


The way you make me feel (I call it love)

by smkkbert



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Smut, escort & client Au, smut with feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-07
Updated: 2017-01-23
Packaged: 2018-08-29 17:11:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 110,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8498329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smkkbert/pseuds/smkkbert
Summary: Although it was only meant to be a one-time-thing for a business dinner, “escort with special service” Oliver Queen is now hired by CEO Felicity Smoak regularly. What was supposed to be a simple arrangement gets complicated when boundaries are crossed and the status of what they have needs to be reconsidered.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> As soon as she heard the knocking on the door Felicity turned around and said with almost panicked voice, “This has all been a terrible mistake.”

“Shouldn’t you have thought about that a little sooner?”

“I’ve been thinking about this all day,” Felicity replied. “And I’ve come to the final decision that this really _is_ a terrible mistake.”

“I fear it might be a little too late for that.”

“Not helpful.”

But John only chuckled and moved to open the door. Felicity watched him from her spot in front of the small mirror and glanced at her reflection for the umpteenth time, feeling like she was paler each time. This really had been a horrible idea. A horrible, horrible, idea! She should have cancelled the whole thing as soon as her hangover had passed, and she had been back to her right mind.

Ideas that were made while drunk were always bad ideas, especially when she was drunk off of tequila. It did even more damage to her brain than other alcoholic drinks. She knew that, and yet she hadn’t canceled the appointment she had made when she had been drunk.

Quickly she ran to the door and got in between the hardwood and John just in time before he could open it. She leaned with her back against the door and looked at her friend with wide eyes, shaking her head and pressing her forefinger to her lips to tell him to be quiet.

“Don’t open it,” she whispered urgently.

“Why not?”

“Maybe he thinks nobody’s here, and he will leave.”

“Why don’t we just open the door, and you tell him that you don’t need his… service?”

“Because that is embarrassing,” Felicity replied. “Let’s just wait and see if he will leave if we don’t open the door.”

“Sorry to disappoint you,” a slightly hoarse voice with audible amusement in it was heard from the other side of the door, “but I am still here. And I can hear everything you say.”

Felicity squeezed her eyes shut with a low groan and lowered her face into her hand, willing to force the blush she knew was spreading on her face, down her neck and to her chest to stop. Of course it didn’t stop, though. She knew it because she could feel the warmth forming in her cheeks and spreading down her body. She also knew that John was laughing at her though she couldn’t see or hear him. She just knew.

It seemed like the embarrassment of having an escort hired for a work dinner wasn’t enough for her to take for one night. Nope, she also had to be caught trying to get rid of him in the one way that made her look like the greatest coward. If there was a price for getting yourself into embarrassing situations, she would easily win it every time without even trying. She just was so unluckily talented.

“Are you going to open the door now, or are you just going to keep pretending you’re not there until you will have to leave and end up running into me waiting here nonetheless?”

“Can’t you just leave?”

“And make this easy for you?” he – whoever exactly he was – asked. “I don’t think so.”

“I’ll pay you extra money if you just leave.”

“I’ll take a pass on the extra money and have you opening the door instead.”

“For someone who works for a luxurious escort service you don’t seem to satisfy to any of my wishes. What does your boss say when you’re putting off all your clients?”

“Since I don’t believe that you will ever hire an escort again anyway, I don’t think it matters that much what I do or don’t do.”

“I wonder if Ms. Rochev thinks the same way.”

“Felicity, you’re going to be late to your dinner,” John reminded her quietly, unable to hide the amused grin, though. “Maybe you should open the door.”

Again Felicity groaned, not missing how her thoughts – _I don’t want to! No! No! No!_ – sounded like the voice of a little child even to her. Thank god  that her brain-to-mouth-filter seemed to work for once instead of betraying her though, Felicity just straightened her shoulders, put on what she hoped was a dignified look and turned around to the door, opening it.

“Felicity Smoak? Hi, I’m Jonas King.”

“You are-“ Felicity started but stopped when she realized that she didn’t really have a word to describe him appropriately.

How were you supposed to describe someone who liked like _that_?

He was tall with broad shoulders that were perfectly accentuated in the suit he wore. He leaned in the frame of the door almost lazily, so the suit jacket was pushed aside a little and allowed her to see the suspenders underneath. God, she loved suspenders on muscular men! And then his face! His jaw was strong, and his stubble only drew more attention to the perfect outlines of his face, just like the way his lips looked all too soft and that made the smug smile on his face only more attractive. It was just-

“Ridiculous!”

The word was out of her mouth before she could have stopped herself. Felicity felt another blush form on her face and spread over her thanks to the low neckline of her dress exposed skin of her chest. The red blush snuck even deeper before it disappeared between her breasts.

“Ridiculous as in ridiculously good-looking,” she suddenly heard herself babble and just knew that she wouldn’t be able to help the next words escaping her lips. “I mean look at you. You are all of… _that_. And of course there is nothing wrong with that. Like really nothing. Not even the tiniest bit. Not even-“

“I think I got the point,” Jonas King interrupted her.

Felicity quickly pressed her lips together and pulled them into her mouth, only barely audibly whispering, “I shouldn’t have praised my brain-to-mouth-filter for not failing me because it was so clear it would use the next opportunity to embarrass me again. It’s so much worse when I am nervous.”

For a brief moment everything was silent, and Felicity wished he would just leave already when instead he asked, “Are we going to that dinner now or aren’t we, Ms. Smoak?”

If she hadn’t been a hundred percent sure about the answer to that question before, she really was sure of it now.

“There is absolutely no way I am going to that dinner with you. I was sure of not going before, and I am only more sure now. My brain-to-mouth-filter won’t work anyway, and I will just babble out that you’re an escort, an escort that offers special services to be exact… Not that I mind that… Just saying... anyway, I will cancel… and hope that my company is going to bounce back on its own… because if it doesn’t, I might have to fire some people, and then they will hate me. And then I will hate myself,” Felicity added almost lamely and sighed. “I guess we are going to dinner together after all.”

Jonas straightened up, moving his hands over the fabric of his suit to smooth out the invisible wrinkles. Then he held out his arm for her to link hers with his. Felicity hesitated for a short second before she realized that she would have to pretend that she was dating him or whatever later this evening anyway. Linking arms with him might be the first step to create whatever it took to fake some intimacy.

Still, it was a weird feeling when they went to the car. John was walking right in front of them, opening the door to the limousine for them. How was she going to pretend to be dating him? She didn’t want to accidentally reveal that the handsome man on her side was not a permanent part of her life but a professional escort. How was she supposed to do that with her lack of a functioning brain-to-mouth-filter?

Felicity shook her head, chasing those thoughts off her mind. She just needed to relax and to concentrate, and everything would be alright.

“During the ride to the restaurant I think we should work on an appropriate cover story. How we met, how long we are dating,…”

“Sure,” Felicity replied distantly, her gaze fixed on John who had pulled out his beeping phone and was now staring at the display in a way that made Felicity worry. “John, everything alright?”

“Lyla messaged me. Something might be wrong with the baby. She wants me to come to the hospital and-“

“Go,” Felicity interrupted him immediately. “Your family is more important than the dinner.”

“Should I get you some back-up? I don’t like you going out there without any security and-“

“It’s just a dinner,” Felicity replied with a smile, shrugging her shoulders. “And everything had been calm lately. Go, I’ll be fine.”

John hesitated for a short moment, but then he nodded. “I’ll get myself a taxi and-“

“Just take the limousine. We can wait for a taxi,” Felicity suggested, stepping forward to put her arms around John’s neck and kiss his cheek. “Tell Lyla I’ll be thinking of the three of you. Text me when you know what’s going on.”

“I will. Thank you, Felicity,” John answered, hugging her back shortly before loosening himself from her hug and looking at Jonas. “For the record if I hear any complaint about you later on, I’ll find you and I’ll snap your neck. Understood?”

“Understood,” Jonas replied with a serious nod of his head.

Felicity watched her friend leave and sent a silent prayer to heaven that Lyla and the baby were okay. The thought that they were losing the baby they had only told her they would have two months ago just killed her. They were like family to her, and she knew how much they wanted this baby.

“He takes his job as your bodyguard pretty serious, hm?” Jonas asked when the limo had turned into the next street.

“Well, he is more than a bodyguard to me,” Felicity replied. “He is like my brother.”

“He definitely sounds like a big brother to me.”

“So I take it that you have siblings?”

Jonas tensed at her words like he had only now realized what he had told her and for the shortest second Felicity watched the thumb of his right hand rub against the fingertips of the same hand nervously. When he turned around to her, though, he put on a smile and just said, “I parked my car only around the corner, so if you want to, I’ll drive.”

Felicity nodded. “Sure.”

Jonas took her hand and linked her arm with his, leading her to the car.

Felicity bit her tongue, trying to figure out what to say or do. She still didn’t like the idea of going to that stupid dinner and pretend that she had a boyfriend only because Richard Mercer couldn’t accept that single ladies could be strong and lead a company at least as well as a single man could and-

“What’s wrong?” Jonas asked when Felicity suddenly stood still, only a few feet away from what she assumed was his car.

“I can’t do this.”

Jonas sighed. “You’re not a really decisive person, are you?”

“Actually I am,” Felicity stated and pulled her hand away from Jonas’ arm. “I mean… not when I am nervous or something, but… I am a single lady, and I see no reason for hiding that behind a man, as ridiculously broad as his shoulders might be which would make hiding behind him really easy.”

“What about your employees?”

“I will find a way to make sure the company will recover, a way that doesn’t make my stomach cramp and a voice inside my head yell at me for betraying my beliefs. What role model would I be for girls and women when I do this and actually admit that you need to betray your beliefs and make yourself small for men not to be scared of you?”

Jonas nodded. “Impressive.”

“Not really. It’s just… It just has to be.”

Again he nodded. “So I am leading you back to the door?”

“You don’t have to. I can get to the door myself, you know? Strong single ladies and all?”

“Yeah, but I don’t want to risk getting my neck snapped by your bodyguard in case you trip and fall on your way,” Jonas replied with a quiet chuckle.

Felicity cocked her head, eyeing him up for the umpteenth time today. “You look like you could hold yourself in a fight.”

Jonas didn’t reply, only tensing up slightly when they started walking back to the small townhouse Felicity had bought a few years ago. His physical ability seemed like another thing he didn’t want to talk about to her, Felicity realized. So they just walked in silence.

When they arrived at the front door, Felicity pulled out her keys, saying, “Sorry for the whole to and fro.”

“Don’t worry. I am used to that though most women seem to have more problems with the part that might come after the dinner.”

Felicity bit her tongue, trying to get her mind to think a little more quickly or stop thinking at all. She’d be okay with either of it as long as it didn’t continue to think this slowly.

She hadn’t had sex in more than a year. Since she had become CEO of what had used to be a part of Kord Industries and before that had been Queen Consolidated all men seemed to see her as a threat like a single lady at the head of a company just had to be a man-eating femme fatale. And now she didn’t have time or energy to date because when would she have time for that? She didn’t even have time to make friends which was why John basically was her only friend, and even he was paid for his service though Felicity was sure that he’d be friends with her even if she wouldn’t pay him. In which case the question would be how they would have met and-

Felicity shook her head, chasing the dispensable thoughts away to concentrate on the real question here. Should she utilize the special service the escort agency offered?

Felicity loved sex. She really, really loved it. And she actually missed it. It had been so long, and this might be her chance of getting what she might need right now. Sex had always relaxed her, and after everything she had been through the last months – becoming head of a company at an early age, moving to a city where she knew nobody, being so threatened that she had felt the need to hire a bodyguard, feeling like she couldn’t save the company she had been trusted with – she really needed some relaxation.

“It was nice meeting you, Ms. Smoak,” Jonas said when Felicity had unlocked the door.

“Wait!” Felicity quickly said when he already turned away to leave.

While Jonas turned back to her, she leaned into the doorframe and bit down on her bottom lip. Jonas cocked his head at her in question, and Felicity felt herself blush. Now that she had held him back from leaving she had to at least say something, though she wasn’t sure if she really wanted him to stay yet. It wasn’t like there was anything wrong with hiring someone for sexual pleasure. Felicity really didn’t mind when people did so. She just wasn’t sure if she saw herself being a person who hired a man to sleep with her.

Well, maybe tonight would be a first.

“If I-“ Felicity started, quickly leaning forward and looking to both sides to make sure no neighbor was walking by and maybe overhearing her question. “If I asked you for the special service you offer… how would that go?”

Felicity didn’t miss the way Jonas perked up his eyebrows slightly though it didn’t last very long. Instead he looked at her intently and leaned into the doorframe too, almost mimicking her posture which Felicity liked in a weird way she couldn’t exactly explain.

“Well, we would either go inside or drive to a nice hotel – whatever you feel more comfortable with,” Jonas replied quietly, his voice almost as low as hers had been when she had asked him. “You’d tell me what you want, and where you want it, and how you want it, and I’ll do it.”

“Everything?”

“Everything.”

“You do realize that I could be a sociopath and tell you that I want you handcuffed to the bed and then slash open your throat, right?”

Jonas eyed her up shortly, the glimpse of amusement visible on his face. “I don’t think so.”

“You don’t think I am capable of killing someone?”

“Oh, it’s not that. I think you could absolutely kill someone,” Jonas replied. “I just think you wouldn’t handcuff me first. Would be a small victory then, wouldn’t it? You would be much prouder of killing him when he wasn’t handcuffed to the bed, right?”

“That might be true…”

“But if it makes you feel better, we can take handcuffing out of the endless pool of possible things to do tonight, okay?”

“Okay,” Felicity said with a sigh, glad for this solution because she just knew that if he hadn’t found a way to put an end to this topic, she would have kept babbling about it mindlessly. Her brain-to-mouth-filter just couldn’t be trusted when she was nervous. Or excited. Or scared. Or aroused. Or anything else that wasn’t a zero on the emotional scale. “So you do everything else?”

“I am okay with everything else.”

“But you won’t kiss me on the mouth, right?”

That made him just burst out into laughter. He let his head fell back into his neck for a moment before he looked back at her with a chuckle and stated, “Felicity, this is not _Pretty Woman_.”

“Of course it’s not. Cause you’re a guy. It would be… _Handsome Man_ then…”

“I fear that title doesn’t really attract viewers.”

“Yeah… probably not,” Felicity said with a sigh. “So you do everything but handcuffing and kissing me on the lips?”

“If that is what you want, yes.”

Felicity nodded. “Okay.”

“Even when you say we are going to do it, we can stop at any time.”

“I am not a virgin, just a virgin in sleeping with someone whose real name I don’t know, and don’t say that I know your name,” she quickly added before he could tell her that she did know his name. “I just know it’s a codename because my middle name is codebreaker – well, it’s actually Megan, but what I am trying to say is-“

“Oliver Jonas Queen.”

“What?”

“My name is Oliver Jonas Queen.”

“Oliver Jonas Queen as in the son of Robert and Moira Queen?”

Oliver nodded stiffly. “Yes.”

“Wow,” Felicity said. “That is… awkward… Because I am leading what used to be your family’s company and-“

“I don’t want to talk about that.”

His voice was sharper than she had expected, and Felicity had trouble trying not to flinch. He looked at her apologetically, and Felicity smiled. If she was him, she probably wouldn’t want to talk about how her parents had died early and the family friend that had been chosen to lead the company until she was old enough to take the position as CEO had ruined the company until no money had been left, and they had been forced to move out of the mansion they had grown up in and had had barely anything left.

No, she wouldn’t want to talk about that with someone, especially not with someone who she had just gotten to know and only knew because she had been hired by said person.

“So, it’s Oliver?”

He nodded and looked at her waiting.

Felicity bit her tongue. She had never done anything like this. She had never even thought about doing anything like this, but it had been so long, and the opportunity was here and-

Screw it, she thought.

“Come in please,” Felicity asked him, releasing a breath she hadn’t known she had been holding. She opened the door for him.

Oliver stepped into the townhouse, not moving far away from the door. Neither did he look around, giving Felicity the weird feeling that he was trying to respect her privacy which felt almost ridiculous given what she was going to ask him to do. God! Was she really going to do it?

“You don’t have to be nervous,” Oliver told her gently.

He stepped behind her and put his hands to her shoulders, beginning to massage them, but Felicity stepped away from him, and Oliver didn’t stop her. She put her purse to the small table next to the wardrobe and looked at Oliver in the mirror.

Okay, so she had asked him in. They were in her home together. But what now?

“Now would be the time to tell me where you want me.”

Felicity turned around and looked at Oliver with wide eyes. Could he read her mind? Was he a crazy sociopath who acted like he was the escort she had hired but was actually a brutal serial killer who intended to kill her in a bloody way and-

“You said that out loud,” Oliver explained when Felicity only kept eying him up suspiciously.

“What did I say out loud?”

“You asked, ’But what now?’,” he answered.

Felicity blushed. She hated when that happened. Sometimes she not only said things she shouldn’t say, sometimes she even said them without meaning to say them in the first place. It was a terrible thing that mostly put her into the most embarrassing situations. But it kind of helped here because she wasn’t sure if she had been able to ask him what the next step was if it wasn’t for her missing brain-to-mouth filter.

So where did she want him, she wondered while looking around. The couch could be a nice place to have sex on, though she wasn’t sure if it was really comfortable because she had fallen asleep on it a few times, and had always woken up with a terrible pain in her back. She had several fantasies about sex in the kitchen, but the thought of how unhygienic it would be stopped her. Well, of course there were some more surfaces that could be tested for their-

Felicity shook her head. Maybe she should take it easy.

“I think we should just… The bed. The bed should do it.”

Quickly Felicity turned around and headed towards the bedroom, trying to calm her wildly beating heart. She still couldn’t believe she really was doing this. She really couldn’t. But here she was – in the midst of her bedroom, trying to figure out what to do next while the hot escort closed the door behind him.

Taking in a deep breath, Felicity turned around to him. “And what now?”

“Now you tell me how you want me,” Oliver explained. “You can give as many details as you want. And you can add new ones whenever you want.”

Felicity nodded slowly. Now was the time to decide what exactly it was that she wanted.

But what did she want?

“Uhm…” Felicity said, massaging the back of her neck uncomfortably. “How about… normal?”

“Normal?” Oliver asked with what Felicity thought was an amused grin.

“Don’t make fun of me,” she said, putting her hands in front of her face. “This is embarrassing enough as it is.”

“What is embarrassing? Hiring an escort?”

“No, this whole situation,” Felicity replied, sitting down on the edge of the bed. “I just… I have never hired an escort before, and… I don’t know… I just feel like it’s embarrassing.”

It shouldn’t be embarrassing. She was an adult woman, and she was a successful businesswoman, and because of that she barely had time, so hiring an escort was the only way to get what she wanted and needed. It was easier than putting herself through a bunch of dates until there would finally be someone who didn’t get scared by her success. Besides, it put a quick end to her need for some pleasure, better pleasure then her fingers could offer in lonely nights.

When she felt the mattress dipping beside her, Felicity looked up, seeing Oliver sitting right next to her. He looked at her understandingly.

“There is nothing you have to be embarrassed about. Not with me.”

The way he said those words… It sounded so honest. Like he actually meant it.

“You’re really good at your job,” Felicity said.

Oliver chuckled. He reached out his hand and stroked his fingertips over Felicity’s spine that was exposed thanks to the low back neckline of her dress. His skin felt rough against hers, but it was exactly that play between roughness and softness that made goosebumps elicit on her skin. It just had been so long since she had been touched with such gentleness. And interestingly Felicity realized that it made no difference that she was going to pay for this touch. She really didn’t care and instead just sighed contently and closed her eyes again.

“I want you to eat me out,” she whispered, keeping her eyes closed.

“Whatever you want,” Oliver replied.

Slowly Felicity opened her eyes and looked at Oliver. He just kept looking at her, waiting for her to do something, or say something, but she didn’t. So Oliver leaned forward, gently brushing his lips against her in a kiss that never pushed too far. When their lips parted, she could still feel his breath ghosting over her skin and his fingertips stroking the skin along her spine.

“What do you want, Felicity?”

The hoarse tone of his voice did things to her that she hadn’t been feeling in quite some time. She couldn’t even remember when she had felt like this the last time.

Not saying anything, Felicity slid farther back on the bed and rested her back down on the soft mattress. Her eyes never left Oliver’s face. She just kept watching him while he was simultaneously watching her. It created some weirdly erotic tension that made Felicity’s breathing shorten slightly and her nervousness increase.

Oliver for his part seemed to be completely calm about this. Of course he was. He had done this probably uncountable times before. Not something she should think about right now, she figured.

“You can… start,” Felicity told him, trying to make her voice sound sure though she knew that even if it did, the way she was awkwardly gesturing towards her lower half erased whatever sureness her voice might have shown.

Oliver turned on the bed, kneeling between her ankles and looking at her.

“Mind if I take off my jacket?”

“No, feel free to lose whatever clothes you want,” Felicity said, and blushed as soon as the meaning of her words caught up to her. “I mean… This was no order to get naked or anything. All I meant was… of course you can take off your jacket. You don’t even have to ask. I will take off my panties in the meantime.”

They both did as they said. While Oliver lay the jacket of his suit on the floor carefully to not get any unnecessary creases into the expensive fabric, Felicity just took of the lacy panties quickly and threw them into the bathroom or at least into the direction of the bathroom since she didn’t manage to throw the fabric far enough into the other room.

Well, who cared?

She rested her back into the pillows and tried to keep her breathing even which wasn’t easy with the nervousness and the slowly growing excitement. The way Oliver looked at her, no matter how much she knew that he had been looking at so many other women like that, made her skin prickle and wetness pool between her thighs.

“You’re comfortable?” he asked, taking her legs and spreading them slightly, so he could lie down between them.

Felicity nodded, feeling her heart beating up into her throat. Her heartbeat quickened when Oliver lowered his chest down onto the mattress too, and brought his lips close to the inside of her thigh a little over her knee. He looked at her intensely, waiting for her approval, and only when she nodded again, did he move his head. His lips made contact with the soft skin of her legs, brushing against it gently.

It was only the slightest of touch, only able to be felt when she concentrated on it. Oliver moved his lips like that until he reached the middle of her thigh. Only then did he press his lips to her skin more firmly, kissing the inside of her thigh gently. Felicity squirmed slightly, trying to move to get closer to him. The gentle touch of his lips and the slightly tickling feeling of his short stubble made her crave for more.

Oliver moved her legs over his shoulders, so his face was resting between her thighs perfectly. She could feel his breath moving over her wetness, making her hips buck slightly. It had been so long since she had felt pleasured like this, and they hadn’t even really started yet. She knew she wasn’t going to last long, but that only made her want to enjoy every second that much more.

When nothing happened for a while, Felicity looked down to see Oliver looking at her. As soon as their gazes locked, Oliver leaned forwards and closed his lips around her clit.

“Oh god!” Felicity moaned.

Her skin felt like it was on fire already, and her hips bucked against his lips immediately, trying to get more friction and increase her pleasure. Oliver put a forearm over her lower stomach to keep her pinned to the bed, though. He moved his head back a little, chuckling quietly. His breath ghosted over her wetness once more, turning Felicity on even more.

“We don’t want this to end before you had a little fun, do we?”

Felicity didn’t get the chance to answer because as soon as the last syllable had fallen from his lips, his tongue moved out and licked a long path from right above her entrance to shortly before her clit. Her head fell back into the pillows. Her legs moved, again trying to get closer, to get his tongue to move where she wanted it, but his forearm over her hips kept her pressed down into the mattress, making it hard to move.

He kept licking her that way, always starting right above her entrance and stopping before her clit. He avoided her most sensitive parts and yet Felicity felt like her whole body was set on fire. Her head moved from one side to the other restlessly. Moans were escaping her lips. Her right hand held onto the headboard of the bed, her left hand moved around in an attempt to find something else she could hold onto, too. And it wasn’t until her fingers found Oliver’s shoulder and moved into his short hair that she found something.

She didn’t have much sexual experience. Neither was it that she was particularly inexperienced. She just…

She had never felt like this. She had never felt the pleasure being so close to the edge without falling over it. She really was right at the edge, and she knew that all she needed would be one right move of his tongue over her clit. That was all it would take for her to fall over the edge. He was keeping her right at the edge, though, never giving her what she wanted most. He kept her pleasure high without allowing it to reach its peak. Her skin felt like it was on fire. Her breathing had gotten erratic. Her heart was beating so wildly that it pounded against her ribs almost painfully. It was the most enjoyable pain she had ever felt. It was so frustrating to never get him where she most wanted him, but at the same time she didn’t want it any other way.

“Please,” she moaned when his tongue started the same path. Her thighs closed around his head more tightly, hoping to keep his lips close to her entrance, but still his tongue moved higher near her clit, not touching it, though. His stubble scratched her skin in a great way that made a loud moan escape her lips. “Please.”

Oliver’s lips moved away from her folds, pressing against this inside of her thigh instead where his stubble had scratched her soft skin only seconds before. Felicity released a frustrated groan, and looked down at Oliver when he chuckled amusedly. He grinned at her smugly, his lips peppering kisses to the inside of her right thigh.

“I thought you were going to give me whatever I say I want?”

“Oh, I should have mentioned that my payment includes enjoyable teasing,” he replied, sliding the hand that didn’t hold her body down from her left knee slowly up to her hip. His thumb grazed over her clit, but not enough to give her what she wanted. “It’s more fun this way.”

“For you or for me?” Felicity asked, but quickly lifted her hand when she remembered that having paid sex was probably not anything he really enjoyed at all. “Don’t answer that.”

Oliver pressed another kiss to the inside of her thigh. Keeping his eyes on her face, he moved his lips to her entrance, moving his tongue into her tight channel only slightly, but it was enough to make Felicity’s head fall back again with a loud moan. He pulled back soon, though. When she looked down at him, she found him still looking at her.

“Felicity,” he said with a huskiness in his voice that did things to her it wasn’t supposed to. “Do you want me to finish you off?”

“Yes, please.”

The last syllable ended in a long moan when Oliver’s tongue entered her once more. The tip stroked her wet walls slowly and gently, making the pleasure increase immediately. Her hand tightened in Oliver’s hair. Her legs moved frantically, so her heels were digging into his back probably painfully. She knew in the back of her mind that maybe she should be sorry and ask if she should take off her shoes because they had to hurt him, but her mind was foggy from the pleasure.

She could feel her orgasm approaching. She could feel it in the tightening of her stomach and the way her toes moved back and forth. Her hands gripped Oliver’s hair even more strongly, pulling him closer. His tongue was moving even deeper into her, touching spots inside of her she had almost forgotten were there.

When the underside of his tongue moved against a particularly sensitive spot, she shouted out, “Yes! Yes! Yes! Right there!”

And then he adjusted the position of his face, pressing the tip of her nose to her clit, and Felicity felt herself falling apart. Jolts of pleasure were ripping all through her body, making her body spasm almost violently. She didn’t know how long that state of oblivion lasted. She felt blind to everything around her, and she had trouble catching her breath.

“You’re really good at that. You should take money,” Felicity said when she was finally able to say something again. Oliver chuckled, and she shook her head, lifting her hand from his hair and looking down to where he rested with his head against her thigh. “Scratch that. You do get paid for this.”

Again Oliver only chuckled and pressed another kiss to the inside of her thigh.

“I hope your expectations have been satisfied.”

“Exceeded to be honest,” Felicity replied with a content sigh. “Never would have thought that hiring an escort to sleep with me would be a good idea, but actually it was.”

“I am glad to hear that. I have kind of a full schedule, but a well-paying regular client is always appreciated and might actually be preferred.”

Felicity chuckled. “Hm… Not sure yet.”

“Whatever you want,” Oliver replied.

They lay like that in silence for some time. Oliver’s cheek kept resting against her thigh, his right hand stroking up and down her left leg. It felt comfortable until Felicity felt like it was getting awkward.

“So… what do we do now?” she asked.

Oliver moved his hand a little higher on her thigh and more to the inside before he answered, “Whatever you want. You just have to say it.”

Felicity thought about it for a short moment.

“I think I want to sleep now.”

“You booked until midnight. Want me to stay that time?”

Felicity lifted her head from the pillow to look at him and replied, “I am a big girl. I can sleep without someone lying next to me.”

Oliver chuckled. “Okay.”

He pressed a last kiss to her knee before he got up from the bed, took his suit jacket and put it on. Felicity watched him, enjoying the play of muscles beneath the white fabric of his dress shirt. He looked really nice. Like really, really nice.

“Can I ask you something?” Felicity asked.

“Sure,” Oliver answered.

“Are you often hired by women in my position?”

“You mean CEOs?”

“CEOs, business women, women in powerful positions,...”

Oliver shrugged his shoulders. “I wasn’t hired by anyone here yet, maybe some in Central City, though.”

“You don’t want to talk about it, right?”

“Well, secrecy is the most important thing about my job,” Oliver answered. “Why do you ask?”

Felicity shrugged her shoulders. “I just wondered whether any of the people I was supposed to have dinner with tonight would have recognized you.”

“I don’t think that would have happened. The agency tries to avoid those things. Besides, I have only been working in Star City for the last month, so I don’t have any regular clients here yet. Most of the women I have been booked by so far have been bored wives that married rich, but miss getting someone’s attention. They only book me for the special services. I was kind of well-known in Central City where I have been living before. I had a lot of regular clients. So I can tell from experience that even if someone would have recognized me, I don’t think anyone would have talked about it. They hired me, too, after all.”

Felicity nodded. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“I hope we’ll see eachother again.”

“I wouldn’t bet on that,” Felicity replied. “This was a nice, little adventure, but I don’t think I’ll do it again.”

“If you change your mind, you know the agency’s number,” Oliver replied. “I’ll find my way out on my own.”

“Bye, Oliver.”

“Bye, Felicity.”

After he had left, Felicity stayed in bed a little more, unable to move. And only when she remembered that she had to turn on the alarm system she got up on her wobbly legs, stumbled to the door and activated the system.

She didn’t even take her dress off before she fell into bed, almost half asleep already. And sleep was just about to pull her under when she started giggling like a crazy person.

“Did I really do this?”


	2. Chapter 2

“I wouldn’t have thought I’d hear from you so soon again, Ms. Smoak,” he said as soon as he had slid onto the backseat of the limousine opposite from her. “I was pleasantly surprised when I could write your name in my schedule. You might become my first regular client here in Star City.”

Felicity chuckled. “If I am your first regular client here, where is my gift?”

Now it was Oliver’s turn to chuckle. “I said you _might_ become my first regular client. Two appointments in two weeks are not regular enough to make that decision for sure yet.”

“What a shame,” Felicity replied mockingly.

Oliver looked her up and down carefully before he stated, “You seem to be a lot surer about this than the last time we met if you allow me the comment.”

Felicity hesitated for a short moment. All week she had been thinking about whether or not to do it, whether or not to call him and make another appointment, asking him to escort her to a gala and maybe join her for some pleasure at her home after that. From time to time there were short, little moments where she wondered if she had lost her mind because she had invited a stranger into her home – something John had scolded her for, at least a little. At the end there was only one truth about her that mattered.

“Once I make a decision I usually stand by it,” Felicity finally answered with a shrug of her shoulders. “I don’t regret having hired you last week. I just hired you for the wrong reason back then.”

“Glad to hear that you don’t regret it.”

She didn’t regret it, and she saw no reason why she would. She had done something that had made her feel good, and if there was something that she believed in, then it was that you should do things that make you happy at least every once in awhile. Paying for some good sexual pleasure should help making her feel good every once in awhile. She might need time to get used to hiring someone for that, but she wouldn’t regret it if she did.

“So what’s the deal about tonight?” Oliver asked.

“A gala reception,” Felicity explained, rolling her eyes. “It’s actually going to be boring. The rich people in and outside the city meet to show that they are rich.”

“If you think like that, then why are you going?”

“The host is a partner of Smoak Technologies. I can’t exactly afford not to go,” Felicity said with a sigh, “but I don’t think I will stay long. Luckily, often there are so many people that it doesn’t even attract attention when you leave soon.”

Oliver nodded. “Do we have a cover story?”

“We met in a cinema three months ago, and we are now seeing each other regularly. The exact parameters of our relationship or whatever to call our casually dating still need to be defined. I don’t think a story like that is needed, though. Most of the people won’t really care or at least they won’t ask. Nobody cares. Most of them won’t even ask for a name because then they don’t have to pretend to remember the next time. Welcome in the world of the rich and famous.”

Felicity slightly rolled her eyes. She had been in these groups of rich and famous people for years now, but she still wasn’t used to it. She didn’t like it, and she doubted she ever would. She was enduring it because it was part of her job, but she was never going to enjoy it.

“Hey, it’s the first time I get to meet someone in the cinema,” Oliver pulled her from her thoughts with a chuckle. “Usually it’s the opera.”

“I hate operas,” Oliver and Felicity said in chorus.

“And now we already have something in common,” Oliver stated.

Felicity smiled at Oliver, feeling a jolt of pleasure going right through her core when she remembered him smirking up at her from where he had been lying between her legs and eating her out. The memory of her orgasm still sent warm shivers down the length of her spine. It had been so long since an orgasm had ever felt that good. Had an orgasm ever felt as good as the one he had given her?

“I think we should go in now,” Felicity said, clearing her throat.

“One last question?” Oliver asked when Felicity was already moving to the door. “If you don’t mind.”

Felicity nodded. “Sure.”

“You stated very firmly that you don’t want to pretend about having a man on your side just because someone might think a partner is needed at a woman’s side,” Oliver stated with calm voice. “So why did you call and ask me to accompany you?”

Felicity eyed Oliver up closely. Shouldn’t he just be happy that she had hired him? Or maybe not exactly happy because spending a boring evening in uncomfortable clothes with a woman he probably wouldn’t ever spend an evening with if it wasn’t for the money she gave him and eventually having to pleasure her might not exactly make you happy, but… it was his job, wasn’t it?

God, it felt cruel to think those things, Felicity realized.

“You don’t have to tell me,” Oliver said after a while. “I was just intrigued. Sorry.”

“It’s-“ Felicity started, sucking in a deep breath when Oliver turned back around to her and looked at her, waiting patiently for her to continue. “It’s just that I haven’t been living here for long, and I don’t feel comfortable on parties like these. And sex kind of relaxes me” – of course she had to blush at those words! – “so I thought if I take you with me and we have some fun afterwards, at least I can relax then. It’s kind of-“

“Natural,” Oliver interrupted her before Felicity could finish her sentence.

“I would have said ‘ridiculous’,” she said with a chuckle.

“Why would it be ridiculous?” Oliver asked. “Sex should be relaxing. It’s healthy. Maybe it would have been useful to have sex before the dinner gala if it relaxes you, though.”

“If we would have had sex before, I would have never made it here,” Felicity replied, shaking her head with chuckle when another blush formed on her skin. “I think we should leave now.”

“Sure,” Oliver said, a grin still on his lips.

Oliver got out of the car first and held out a hand for her. She put her fingers in his and let him help her getting out of the car. The tight-fitting, pink dress really didn’t make it easy to move much. Once she was standing safely on the sidewalk next to him, Oliver closed the door of the limousine and held out his arm for her. Felicity chuckled breathily, linking her arm with him.

“Ready?” he asked when Felicity looked towards the steps in front of the building.

Felicity sighed, nodding her head. “I am as ready as I can be.”

Oliver smiled and led her upstairs where a concierge opened the door for them. Felicity gave him a friendly smile before she stepped into the hall. She felt like stepping into a different life. She straightened up automatically, her muscles tensing slightly, and with a deep intake of breath she started smiling.

She took a quick look around to try and find some familiar people. She wasn’t good with remembering faces, honestly. Huge groups of people always made her nervous, so a lot of her attention was focused on continuing to breathe evenly. Without John it was even weirder to be here. Usually he was standing right next to her and knew exactly what she needed to here to relax at least a little.

“Speaking of, where is your bodyguard tonight?”

“Hm?” Felicity asked, looking at Oliver with a frown.

It took her a long moment before he realized that she had said the part about John out loud. She blushed at the realization like she usually did when she was talking out loud what was meant to be nothing more than a thought. She was glad that it was only a thought about John escaping her so easily today because her lack of a brain-to-mouth-filter had taken her to embarrassing places already.

She was just about to answer why her bodyguard was missing the evening today when she saw a man approaching her. When she flinched slightly at how close he was already, she almost cursed herself for doing so. She had thought she was over the time that she would flinch if there were movements in the corner of her eye she hadn’t seen coming. Apparently the lack of her good friend by her side had a stronger influence on her feeling of safety than she had thought. She could only hope that the smile she forced herself to, when she turned around to the man that had approached her, was convincing enough for him to forget about her flinching.

“Ms. Smoak, what a pleasure to see you again.”

Felicity felt her smile freezing slightly, but she did her best to hide her discomfort. “Mr. Patel, such a pleasure. I didn’t know you were going to be here.”

“I thought it was a nice occasion to see some friends again,” Mr. Patel replied, smiling at her coolly. He then turned his eyes to Oliver, giving him a short look. “Do we know each other?”

“I doubt it,” Oliver replied. Felicity shot him a look, seeing him smiling back at Mr. Patel with friendliness that didn’t really reach his eyes. “I just moved to Starling.”

“Starling,” Mr. Patel said with a chuckle. “I haven’t heard that in a while. Star City isn’t Starling anymore. It hasn’t been in years.”

“Right,” Oliver muttered under his breath. “Yet I just moved here, so I doubt we know each other.”

“Oh, I must have mistaken you then,” Mr. Patel responded. “Anyway, Ms. Smoak, how is it going at Smoak Technologies? I hear you make progress with the new project for-“

“I am very sorry, Mr.-“

“Patel.”

“Mr. Patel,” Oliver said while his smile was widening and growing cooler at the same time. “This is my favorite song, and Felicity promised me a dance, so I need you to excuse us. The evening is still long, and I am sure you will get another chance to talk to her later on.”

Before Mr. Patel could even say a word, Oliver took Felicity’s hand and took her with him to the dance floor. There were only two other couples dancing, and Felicity actually felt terribly watched when they joined them. She didn’t get a chance to protest, though, because Oliver had already put his arm around her waist and slowly moving in time with the music. Only hesitantly Felicity put her hand to Oliver’s shoulder and moved a little closer to make the dancing easier.

Even with her high heels she could barely look over his shoulder, and Felicity was actually glad about that. She lowered her eyes to his bow tie, focusing on the fabric instead of everything else around her. She had only been here for a short time, but she already wished she was back in her home where she felt so much more comfortable and safer.

“Who is this Mr. Patel?” Oliver asked after awhile. “Something seemed off about him.”

Felicity shrugged her shoulders slightly. “He wanted to buy Kord Industries when the company failed, but I was quicker. I think he is holding a grudge against me because of that, actually a lot of people do. The sharks were already circling when I entered into the whole thing, and I think they are upset I stole the easy prey.”

Oliver frowned slightly, but he didn’t ask anymore and Felicity was relieved he didn’t. She didn’t want to talk about that, especially not here and not with him. She hadn’t done anything wrong. She deserved to be the CEO of her own company. She was helping to make it a better company again.

“By the way the business partner that I thought needed me to bring a plus-one?” Felicity asked and Oliver nodded, remembering what she had told him during their first appointment. “He was so impressed that I wouldn’t diminish myself that he actually made a new appointment for in a few weeks, so I can present my idea for the joint project.”

“Sounds good,” Oliver told her.

Felicity smiled. “It is good. If everything goes well, the company is hopefully going to bounce back, and that means I don’t need to dismiss any of my employees. I might actually be able to make some more jobs.”

“Congratulations then.”

“Thanks,” Felicity replied. “I know the company hit a few rough patches since your parents died and the new CEO took over and made bad decisions, but-“

Felicity felt Oliver’s shoulder tense under the palm of her hand. When she looked at his face, she saw the tension there too. His jaw was locked, and his eyes were directed somewhere over her head. He really didn’t seem to be willing to talk about that and Felicity understood. She hadn’t thought about how uncomfortable he must be feeling about this when she had said this. It had just escaped her lips before she had been able to really think about it and-

“How would you like a glass of champagne?” Oliver asked.

Felicity sighed in relief, grateful that he wasn’t holding her nosiness against her. “That would be perfect, thank you.”

Oliver flashed her a smile before he shortly nodded his head and then went over to the bar to get them glasses of champagne. Felicity took in a deep breath, slowly nodding to herself. No more talking about his family or anything like that. It made sense. She really didn’t want to talk much about her barely existing private life with him either. It was only fair she accepted it too. They had a business connection, and it should stay like that. It was hard to focus on business given the exact business that connected them anyway. They should keep it as professional as possible.

Luckily, there were a lot of other things they could talk about.

 

 

“The evening was only half as bad as I thought it would be,” Felicity said with a sigh when the limousine stopped in front of her house. She rested her head back against the cool leather. “Thanks for accompanying me.”

Oliver nodded his head shortly. “You are welcome.”

Felicity took in a deep breath. She felt the blush spreading on her cheeks even before she said the words, “Are you coming inside?”

“If you want to, of course.”

Smiling, Felicity nodded. Oliver opened the door of the car and helped her out of it like he had done when they had arrived at the location of the gala earlier that evening. He didn’t offer his arm this time, and Felicity was glad he didn’t. She enjoyed the moment of quiet that settled between them while they were walking to the door.

Felicity rummaged around in her purse until she found the keys, almost surprised that it took her this long to find them. Her purse really didn’t offer a lot of room, but somehow she managed to get all the important stuff and even some completely unneeded things with her. She unlocked the door and stepped out of her shoes immediately, carelessly kicking them away and walking further into her townhouse.

Only when she heard Oliver closing the door behind them, did she turn around to him. She eyed him up carefully, thinking about how she would like the night to continue. Oliver was wearing a suit, and she was sure that she would find suspenders underneath the black suit jacket. She was into suspenders, especially on men who had broad shoulders and a well-trained body as he had.

Oliver continued to stand at the door, letting her eye him up without complaining. She actually noticed the slightest of a smirk on his face when she reached his face that was framed by the delicious stubble that had scratched the inside of her thighs when he had eaten her out the last time they had met.

“Where do you want me?” he asked like he had done in their first night together already.

“Bedroom,” Felicity just replied, already heading towards said room.

She heard Oliver’s steps on the hardwood floor, telling her that he was following her. Felicity tried to get her mind to settle on an idea of what she wanted tonight. She knew it was crazy, but she had soon decided that she needed to see Oliver again to give her the release that had relaxed her so much in their first night that she had felt her productivity at work being increased for days. It had been so long since she had had someone to release the tension from her body like that, and the thing with Oliver was uncomplicated because she didn’t need to invest much time which she didn’t have. There was no fear of heartbreak because it wasn’t about their hearts. She was just using his body to get the pleasure that she craved.

The only problem was that not investing much time or heart also meant not really building any kind of relationship. Now the last thing Felicity wanted at this point was a serious relationship, but she felt like she needed some kind of connection to Oliver, something more than just business, to really have sex with him. Of course oral sex was a kind of sex too, but it at least for Felicity allowed a lot less intimacy.

Oliver cleared his throat quietly, reminding her that he was still there, and Felicity felt another blush forming on her cheeks. She had been so deep in her thoughts that she had almost forgotten he was still there. He had even taken off his suit jacket, revealing the suspenders she had known where there even before he had done so and rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt. His bowtie was hanging loosely around his neck.

Felicity’s mouth watered at the sight. His broad, muscular chest was perfectly accentuated like that. Her finger itched with the need to unbutton his shirt, so she could see the naked skin underneath and feel the hard muscles against her fingertips. She didn’t feel ready for that, though. Not yet.

“What do you want, Felicity?” Oliver asked with hoarse voice that sent a jolt of pleasure right to her core. “Should I go down on you again?”

Felicity bit down on her bottom lip. She had loved how he had eaten her out. He definitely had some talent at that because no guy she had ever been with had been as good as he had been. It probably made sense since nobody else she had been with had made oral sex their profession. Yet she had been surprised. She had thought she knew what good oral sex felt like, but Oliver had proved her wrong.

Yet today she wanted something else. When she had danced with Oliver, she had felt the warmth radiating from his body. She had wondered what his body would feel like pressed against hers, moving against hers. A body like Oliver’s needed to be enjoyed in every form. She wasn’t ready to have sex with him yet, but there were other ways to feel his body. Teenagers could be so much more creative about that than adults.

“Felicity?” Oliver asked quietly, pulling her from her thoughts.

“This might be an extraordinary wish,” Felicity started and cleared her throat, not missing how Oliver perked up his eyebrows in surprise, “but I think I would like us to... dry hump?”

 “Of course.”

Felicity bit down on her bottom lip, looking at him for a long moment. If Oliver was surprised by her wish, he didn’t let it show. He just gave her a nod, smiling slightly.

“Do you have many clients who want to do something like that?”

Oliver thought for a moment, probably trying to find a way of answering this without giving too much away. Privacy was the basis for what he was doing, so of course he couldn’t blurt out all the secret things he had been asked to do in his job.

“I had a lot of clients with a lot of extraordinary wishes,” Oliver replied, “but this wasn’t as uncommon as you might think it is.”

Felicity nodded her head, smiling. “Okay then… Uhm…”

“On the bed?” Oliver asked.

Again Felicity nodded. “Yes, the bed sounds fine.”

She sat down on the edge of the mattress and then slid back until she could lie down in the middle of it. She felt almost as nervous as during her first time with him. It wasn’t that she didn’t exactly feel comfortable with him because Oliver made it easy to feel comfortable around him. She just wasn’t used to using a man for her pleasure and paying him for it.

Oliver crawled onto the mattress next to her before he put his hands to both sides of her face, so his head was hovering right over hers. His deep blue eyes took in her face, making her blush. She didn’t know how Oliver did it, but somehow he managed to give her the feeling like he really wanted her. He must have perfected that look in his time as an escort because Felicity couldn’t imagine a person, man or woman, looking at someone like that when they were paid for the first time.

“It’s easier with some than with others,” Oliver said, stroking the knuckles of his left hand over her cheek.

Felicity frowned. “What?”

“You said I am looking at you like I want you,” Oliver explained, making a deep red blush appearing on Felicity’s face for babbling her thoughts away once more. “I like having sex. I always did. That makes it easier in general. Then you are beautiful and a really nice person, so it helps too.”

“A really nice person?”

Oliver chuckled. “Hey, we have spent a little time together now, and in that time there really wasn’t a moment where I felt terribly uncomfortable around you. You don’t order me around like I am your servant or-“

“I am paying you to have sex with me.”

“That’s my job,” Oliver told her with another chuckle, but he shook his head. “What I was meaning to say is that there are clients that are less polite or less easy to please or whatever to call it. I have a good knowledge of people. It comes with the job. Anyway, that makes me think that you are a nice person.”

“Well, I guess a lot come with the job,” Felicity replied, unable to hold back. She playfully punched Oliver’s shoulder, proud about her joke.

“Just your jokes need to be worked on,” Oliver told her with a chuckle.

Felicity pursed her lips, pouting. She was relieved that Oliver was as good at his job as he was. He really made it easy to lose most of the tension and nervousness that would keep her from agreeing to do what she needed to really relax. She actually wondered if escorts had to take classes about how to calm down nervous clients like doctors probably got a class in how to deal with patients that were scared of going to the doctor.

“You know, escorts don’t get the best organized job training.”

Felicity pressed her lips together, pulling them into her mouth. She really needed to work on getting her brain-to-mouth-filter back under control. Lately it really failed her more often than she was used to, and that's saying a lot.

Oliver straddled her. He still kept his weight on his hands, but he slowly bent his arms, so his body was hovering right above hers. She could feel the warmth radiating from him and took in a deep breath at how that feeling made a warm shiver running down the length of her spine. She licked her lips, focusing on his face.

“Do you have any more questions or do you want us to start?”

Felicity hummed for a short moment, narrowing her eyes, as she quickly searched her thoughts for any other urgent question she needed to ask now, but usually they just popped up like that. She shrugged her shoulders. “I think we can start.”

“Good.”

For a long moment Oliver didn’t move. He just continued to look at her with a glint of amusement in his eyes. Her eyes focused on his lips, the soft-looking lips that had felt so great against her core a couple of days ago. The memory made her back arch slightly, her hip rubbing against Oliver’s. When he slowly bent his arms more, bringing his lips closer to her body, Felicity bent her head back, making her neck longer. A content sigh escaped her when Oliver’s lips brushed against the sensitive skin at the side of her neck. They were as soft as she had remembered them, maybe even softer.

Felicity bit down on her bottom lip, humming quietly. Oliver’s lips moved slowly against her skin, never really pressing down to kiss her. She could feel the tip of his nose following the path of his lips. His warm breath elicited goosebumps where it ghosted over her skin. His lips moved from right under her jaw down to her collarbone and back up again to the middle of her neck where they finally pressed down a little more firmly, placing a kiss there.

Releasing a low sigh, Felicity moved a hand to Oliver’s back. Her hands were moving over the fabric of his shirt, yet she could feel the play of muscles underneath, and it felt even better than she had imaged from just watching him. His body was hard, the muscles so perfectly defined that she could feel them. Her other hand moved into Oliver’s short hair, keeping his head in place at her neck. He got the hint, opening his lips and moving his tongue over her skin. Felicity bit down on her bottom lip, her back arching even more. She tried to move against Oliver, feeling aroused by the feeling of his tongue against her neck, but her tight dress didn’t allow her to spread her legs wide enough to get into a good position. Oliver was still holding his weight and his body away from her a little, not being close enough.

When Oliver started sucking at the side of her neck, Felicity moaned. It had been too long since she had felt a tender caress like that. Yet she hurried to say in a breathy whisper, “Don’t leave hickeys.”

Oliver released her skin, moving his lips a little lower on her neck. “Don’t worry. I’ll be careful.”

Felicity relaxed again. The last thing she needed was a hickey to remind her that she had decided to hire an escort to give her what her exhausting work life kept her from. Her memories alone were enough to distract her from time to time. She didn’t need a reminder.

Oliver kissed further down her neck back to her collar bone. He nibbled at it gently, his teeth grazing her skin. Felicity sighed contently.

“You’re really good at that,” she said, her back arching even more.

Oliver mumbled something against her skin that sounded like a thank you, but Felicity wasn’t sure and she didn’t even really care. She just closed her eyes and enjoyed what Oliver gave her and what he made her feel. Her skin was tingling where he kissed her. Her back arched, her stomach brushing against his abs. Felicity hummed at the feeling.

While Oliver’s lips were moving along her collarbone, Felicity moved her hand from his back down his body to his ass. Her fingertips dug into the flesh under his pants slightly when she pressed him down, so his hips came to rest on hers. She tried to move against him, but it really didn’t work with her dress. She was about to tell him he should help her tugging the hem of her dress up her legs, but she didn’t get to do so.

Before she could have asked him to, Oliver’s lips were already moving down her cleavage. He moved a hand away from the mattress to the neckline of her dress, quickly pushing it down to uncover her right breast to him. He didn’t waste a second. Instead his lips already moved to the revealed skin and closed around her nipple.

“Oh yes,” Felicity said with a sigh.

Her back arched against him, bringing her small form flush against his broad body. She could feel his abs pressing against her stomach, the outline of his half-erect cock slightly rubbing against her hip. Her breast pressed against his mouth, and Oliver used the opportunity to move his flat tongue against her nipple, stimulating it.

“Yes,” Felicity moaned again, feeling a jolt of pleasure rushing through her core.

Oliver sucked at her nipple hard, and another moan escaped Felicity. This felt so good, so freaking good. Her hips bucked slightly, trying to get friction, but the dress didn’t let her. She would push up the hem of the dress and rub against him right now if she felt her hands were able to move. Her fingers were clawed into this shirt, though, holding him to her. She knew that she wouldn’t get to loosen the hold she had on him right now, not as long as his lips, tongue and teeth worked their magic on her breast.

Her nipples were hard in an instant. The rough rubbing of Oliver’s tongue against the sensitive skin stimulated them in just the right way. When he grazed his teeth over it, Felicity hissed, but it turned into a sigh when Oliver circled the nipple with his tongue, soothing the pain. When the tip of his tongue reached the underside of her nipple, he closed his mouth and pressed the nipple against the roof of her mouth, holding it there.

“Oh yes,” Felicity whispered, her back arching even more.

Heat was coiling deep inside of her. She could feel her panties getting damp from the wetness that was pooling between her legs. Her fingers tightened in Oliver’s shirt. She knew how sensitive her breasts were, but with the lack of regular stimulation they had grown even more pleasurable over the last months since someone had caressed them like this the last time. Her breathing grew shorter as her pleasure increased. Her inner walls were clamping down rhythmically on emptiness.

The pleasure he was giving her, one she hadn’t been prepared for and she wasn’t able to control, almost made her wish she was courageous enough to allow him to be inside of her, but she wasn’t ready. Feeling his whole body pressed against hers like this with his abs rubbing slightly against her stomach as she was squirming underneath him was as much closeness as she could accept right now. She wasn’t scared she would fall in love or anything because she could very well separate between feelings and sex, but she also felt like she wasn’t able to let a stranger explore the most intimate parts of her body.

Oliver pressed his tongue against her nipple harder, squeezing it between the roof of his mouth and his tongue. It snapped her out of her thoughts with a loud gasp for breath.

“Push up the hem of my dress,” she eventually got to tell him what she wanted.

Oliver propped himself back up on his hands and knees, so he could sit back on his heels. He put his flat hands to her hips and moved his hands upwards, taking the fabric of her dress with him. His eyes locked on hers, and Felicity couldn’t avoid thinking that it was extremely hot how he looked at her while pushing the dress higher and higher until the skirt finally pooled around her waist completely.

Not taking his eyes off her face, Oliver moved his hands from her hips down her legs. Only the tips of his fingers were touching her. She felt goosebumps following the slightly rough skin of his fingers and Felicity sighed contently. Oliver continued like that for a while, keeping the touch light.

When Felicity’s impatience increased, she lifted her hands to Oliver’s chest and pulled him back down onto her by grabbing the fabric of his shirt. Oliver lay flush on top of her. His breath ghosted over her cleavage and a shiver ran down the length of Felicity’s spine when she felt him blow a breath against her nipple that was still wet and sensitive from the caress he had granted her before.

Her need for friction and her need for more than the pleasurable teasing Oliver gave her right now by blowing breath after breath against her hard nipple felt like a fire. She couldn’t say where it was because the burning heat seemed to embrace her from the outside as well as filling her from the inside. Every cell of her body was on fire. It was as amazing as it felt painful, so enjoyably painful. She hadn’t felt a need like this in a long time.

“Move,” Felicity said with a moan when Oliver rubbed his stubbled cheek against the top of her breasts. The prickling feeling felt great. It was the same mix of pleasure and pain as her need made her feel, just that it wasn’t as intense. She needed intense now, though. “Please move.”

Her hips were already moving against him, rubbing and pressing, getting friction and relieving some of her need. It wasn’t enough, though, because she needed more. She needed him to move against her, pressing against her hard and rolling his hips against her clit. She needed someone to be active and take her by surprise, heightening the pleasure she was feeling deep in the pit of her stomach.

Oliver propped himself up on his forearms, so he had more leverage to thrust against her. His cock was hard by now, and she could feel the outline against her folds through the layers of both of their clothes. He was long and thick, and he didn’t even need to be inside of her to give her pleasure. Oliver thrust down, pressing his erection to her folds, whenever she lifted her hips from the mattress slightly by her heels into the mattress.

They moved quickly, absolutely in time with each other. Oliver’s chest rubbed against hers, her bare nipple hardening even more at the sensation. Felicity felt her pleasure increasing, her movements growing even more hurried. Yet she still needed more. She wasn’t getting the friction she needed.

Panting, she struggled a leg free from under Oliver. He seemed to get the hint and straightened his legs while Felicity was parting hers at the same time. It allowed her to wrap her legs around his hips, making it easier to move against him. She pressed herself close to his lap and just rolled her hip, feeling the long outline of his cock slide through her folds and move against her clit.

“Oh yes,” she panted, her head falling back against the pillow.

Oliver used the opportunity, pressing his lips to her throat. He opened his mouth, moving his tongue against her skin. He hummed, and Felicity moaned at the way her skin vibrated because of that.

It wasn’t long until her pleasure increased even more. She was barely able to keep her moans low anymore. They echoed through the room, mixing with the rustling of their clothes as they were still moving against each other quickly. The mattress squeaked slightly whenever Oliver thrust against her hard.

She was panting, barely able to really take in a breath anymore. Her skin felt so hot and her whole body was tingling with the anticipation of the nearing orgasm. Oliver moved a hand down her rib cage and to her leg. He grabbed her knee, pushing it to the side and opening her even more to him. All it took were two more hard thrusts and the pleasure was exploding.

Her back arched off the mattress as much as Oliver’s hard body above her allowed it to. Her fingers were clawed into his shirt, her nails digging into the palm of her hands forcefully. A long moan escaped her lips as her senses shut down, her body unable to process anything but the pleasure that was rushing through her whole body.

It took her awhile until she felt her muscles relaxing. The uncontrollable spasms of her body stopped and with a little time even her fingers were able to loosen from his shirt. They fell to the mattress next to her face, no tension left in her arms. Her body felt satisfied, her mind already going blank into a relaxing mode close to sleep.

Yawning, she straightened slightly to get back a feeling for her limbs. When that caused her sore center to rub against Oliver’s still hard length, she quickly stopped, though.

He was still hard. He hadn’t come. Admittedly, until this moment she hadn’t even really thought about that. She had only thought about her own pleasure and how she would get the orgasm she wanted and needed. Her mind had been unable to focus on anything else. As she felt his breathing against her neck now, she wondered if he had been close or not. She didn’t know him, and she had barely paid attention to how he had reacted to what they had done. All she had cared about regarding him had been how his movements had heightened her pleasure.

She felt her cheeks burning with embarrassment. She should have asked him to just eat her out once more. No more body contact than the one absolutely needed. She wouldn’t feel his erection now and-

“Anything else you want?” Oliver asked her.

“Huh?” Felicity asked.

She turned her head to see that Oliver had his head propped up onto his hand, watching her face. He was lazily moving a tip of her finger over the top of her chest. He chuckled at the probably clueless look in her face.

“I was asking if there was something else you wanted tonight?”

“No,” Felicity said with a sigh. “I’m fine. Thanks.”

Oliver nodded. “I guess you are still firm on your no-cuddling-policy?”

Felicity chuckled. “I wouldn’t call it like that, but yes. I am still a big girl and can fall asleep without someone next to me.”

“Okay then,” he replied slowly. “I will leave then.”

“Mhm,” Felicity hummed affirmative, nodding her head slightly.

Oliver propped himself up onto his hands and moved off of her. Felicity pressed her lips together when the movement caused his hard cock to press against her sensitive lower lips once more. She had could almost taste the question of what he was going to do with his erection on the tip of her tongue, but she swallowed the words done instead of saying them, shaking her head slightly.

“Everything alright?” Oliver asked

“Yes,” Felicity replied quickly. “Just tired.”

Oliver nodded, taking his suit jacket. “It was nice seeing you again. I hope your expectations were-“

“Outdone once more,” Felicity finished his sentence with a nod.

Oliver smirked smugly. “Thank you very much. And if you decide that you want a gift as my first regular client, just hire me some more, and I’ll see what I can do.”

Felicity chuckled. “I will remember that.”

Throwing his jacket over his shoulder, Oliver pushed his hands into the pockets of his pants and gave her another long look. Felicity wiggled her hips, pushing the fabric of her dress back down to cover her, and Oliver bit back an amused grin. When she got the feeling that the situation was getting awkward since she was still lying on the bed and Oliver was still looking at her, Felicity bit down on her bottom lip.

“So uhm…” Felicity said awkwardly.

“Can I ask you something?” Oliver asked, leaning into the open door.

“Sure,” Felicity responded, taken aback by his question. She quickly added, “If I can ask something back in return.”

Oliver tensed slightly, looking at her. Felicity couldn’t bring herself to regret asking for a question in return. If Oliver wasn’t willing to answer her question, she wouldn’t answer his. She felt like she was revealing herself to him a lot as it was. She didn’t want to increase that feeling by telling him something about herself while he would stay a mystery to her. This only worked either way or not at all.

“What do you want to know?” Oliver asked.

Felicity quickly sat up. She hadn’t really thought he was going to agree to this. He had been avoiding anything about himself even if the topic had come to it on accident. She understood why he didn’t want to tell her anything. He was trying to protect his privacy as much as she was trying to protect hers. In a business connection like this that brought the two parties really close to each other it was more important than ever to set limits.

“Okay,” Felicity said slowly, tapping her fingertip against her lips. “I was wondering if you aren’t worried that someone will recognize you.”

Oliver frowned. “You mean one of my clients when I am out in my free time or-?”

“I mean in general,” Felicity replied. “Your parents were important people here. They helped making this city what it is today. They were one of the most famous people in the city. If someone found out their son is back here and working as-“

“Luckily, I don’t take much after my parents with my look, at least not that much that someone would recognize me easily,” Oliver interrupted her. “The media interest in my family calmed a few years after we lost all the money. I don’t think anyone even cares about it now. Does that answer your question?”

He said the last question after a short pause, his voice tense. He obviously really didn’t like to talk about his private life, and Felicity made a quick mental note to never ask something about him again and never to tell him something private again. It was better if their connection continued to be strictly business.

“Why do you need a bodyguard and… where is he tonight by the way?”

“Isn’t that two questions?”

Oliver shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe. I am sure I asked where he is earlier tonight already, so you might owe me that answer anyway.”

Felicity nodded slightly and sighed. “After I took over Kord Industries and made it Smoak Technologies, there have been some threats.”

“Threats?”

“Some people didn’t agree with what I did with the company. They didn’t like that I took it over and formed it as I pleased.”

Oliver frowned. “I thought you were helping the company back to its feet.”

“Exactly,” Felicity replied. “Let’s just say some other business people in that area don’t like that there is another concurrent on the market now.”

“Like Patel?”

“Maybe.” Felicity shrugged her shoulders. “Well, that is the reason why I hired John, and he has been looking out for me ever since.”

“Did anything serious ever happen?”

“That is a third question,” Felicity said with a chuckle, “but the answer is no. So far nothing has happened. And to answer the question before, John’s nephew Andy is turning six today, so I told him to stay home.”

“Is his wife okay?”

Felicity cocked her head. “How many more questions do you intend to ask?”

Oliver chuckled quietly. “Just this one for now.”

“Lyla is fine,” Felicity replied, “and so is the baby.”

“I am happy to hear that,” Oliver said with a warm smile. When Felicity yawned, nodding her head, he chuckled slightly and knocked against the door frame shortly. “I should go now.”

“Yeah.”

“Good night, Felicity.”

Felicity smiled back at him and waved a hand awkwardly, sighing. “Good night, Oliver.”


	3. Chapter 3

“Should I open the door or do you want to pretend you’re not here?”

Felicity glanced at John in the mirror, putting on her earrings. “I only tried to pretend not being home once, and we both know it didn’t end well.”

John grinned. “I guess I will open the door then?”

“If you don’t mind,” Felicity replied.

While John was strolling to the door, Felicity quickly slipped into her shoes and took a last look into the mirror, making sure she really was ready to go. She moved her flat hands over the fabric of her pink dress, one that allowed her much more mobility than a lot of other dresses she had. Since she planned on dancing tonight, she thought it would be a good idea to wear something that allowed her to actually move.

“Mr. King,” Felicity heard John say after he had opened the door.

Felicity smiled. She was almost surprised by how quickly she had grown used to hire Oliver to spend her company and pleasure her afterwards. He would accompany her to the boring events a woman in her position was forced to go to and join her for some pleasure at her home after that. They alternated between dry humping and him eating her out, one more good reason to wear this dress. It would allow her to move against him much more easily tonight.

It was actually like they had settled their own kind of routine. Some people came home, put on some comfy clothes and took their dog for a walk. Other people met their friends in a bar for a drink before heading home to enjoy the rest of their night with a good movie. She and Oliver spent their evening at a gala or dinner or whatever Felicity’s schedule demanded. They talked about nothing in particular. They made jokes. They just had a good time. Then they went home to her. Oliver asked her what she wanted, and they put it into action. It was their own way of having a routine for the hours they spent together.

In the few passionate nights they had shared now, Felicity still hadn’t gotten herself to take a next step and use Oliver’s full body for her pleasure. The outline of his hard cock between her folds felt amazing, and the thought of having him inside of her was tempting, but she wasn’t ready yet. She knew it was stupid, but that was how she felt. She needed more time to get used to him, and as long as she got her nightly orgasm, she was fine.

When she saw Oliver stepping into her house, she turned away from the mirror and smiled at him. Her eyes traveled down his body for a short moment, taking in his broad body in the expensive-looking suit.

“Felicity,” he said with a smile.

“Jonas,” Felicity replied, the name not rolling off her tongue as easily as his real name did. She usually avoided calling him by his name in front of other people, always worried his real name would eventually escape her. “I was glad to hear your schedule allowed to accompany me today.”

Oliver smiled. “It usually takes some time to establish a base of regular customers, so my schedule is still relatively free.”

“How long?”

“How long what?” Oliver asked.

“How long does it take?” Felicity asked. She stepped in front of John with her back turned towards him and let him help her into her coat. “You’ve been here for almost three months now I think, so that is some time, isn’t it?”

Oliver shrugged his shoulders. “It’s not that easy to say.”

Felicity frowned. “And how to do you pay your rent or anything else for that matter? I assume you are working on provision and depend on clients.”

“There is always work to do,” Oliver replied brusquely.

“Right,” Felicity said quickly.

She failed miserably at living up to her resolution of not asking Oliver any more questions, but theoretically she still kept holding onto it. Oliver made it easy to feel comfortable around him. He was the right mix of funny, serious and sexy, knowing exactly when what side was appropriate or needed. He knew how to make himself invisible when she was talking business with others. It was probably the only time Felicity was glad that there weren’t many women in her position because she was sure it wouldn’t be easy for Oliver to make himself invisible in front of them. Most female eyes would eye him up when he entered a room.

Anyway, he and Felicity were good at doing small talk and Oliver always found a way to more or less subtly change the topic when Felicity forgot about her resolution and the conversation got too close to private matters that he didn’t want to talk about. It was one more reason why it was easy with him. He was a little distant whenever they got to dangerous territory, but it never lasted long, and then it would be like it hadn’t happened in the first place. For someone with her lack of being able to control her mouth it really was a relief to have someone who wasn’t unforgiving.

Oliver was just good in his job of being an escort. He really was the perfect companion to take with her.

While quiet settled between them for a moment, she pressed her lips together, buttoning her coat. Her eyes were looking around awkwardly, unsure what to settle on, until she noticed the wrapped up box in Oliver’s hand. She frowned, nodding her head at the present. “What’s that?”

“Oh, that is my gift to you,” Oliver replied.

“Your gift?” Felicity asked. “For me?”

“We had six appointments in around ten weeks. You’re officially my first regular client now, so I felt it was appropriate.”

“Oh, do you hear that, John?” Felicity asked, glancing back at her bodyguard and friend over her shoulder. “I get a present.”

John rolled his eyes. “I will check if the limousine is ready for us to take off.”

Felicity chuckled slightly. John avoided talking to her about Oliver as much as he could. He didn’t really seem to be willing to talk or even think about his boss and friend spending private time with an escort. Admittedly, she didn’t really want to talk to him about this either because he was her best friend and almost like a brother. You didn’t talk to your brother about how you enjoyed being pleasured by a professional escort and how you actually craved more because you haven’t had sex in months, but then you weren’t sure if you were really ready because you felt like actually having sex with him inside of you was a big thing.

What Felicity needed was a female friend. She needed a friend she could talk to about something like this. John clearly was the wrong person, and the only other person she would count as a friend was Lyla, but Lyla was pregnant and John’s wife. Talking to her probably wasn’t a much better idea either. Felicity sighed.

Life wasn’t easy. When she looked up and found Oliver looking at her with a question in his eyes, she felt herself blushing.

“Things going on in here,” she told him in a whisper, gesturing to her head. She quickly put on a smile. “Do I get my present now?”

“Absolutely,” Oliver replied, holding it out for her. “I should warn you that I am not the best at making presents, but this one was really thought through.”

Felicity took the present from his hands and unwrapped it quickly. She opened the box inside and frowned.

“Is that a fern?”

“Yes,” Oliver replied.

Felicity looked up at him. “You bought me a fern?”

“Hey, it’s a great plant. It doesn’t need much care, and it is long-lasting,” Oliver told her. “I thought given your job it was the best I could give you.”

“Thank you very much then,” Felicity replied with a chuckle. She put the plant to the small table next to the wardrobe, stroking her fingers over the leaves shortly before she turned back around to Oliver. “I guess it is time to go now, right?”

“If you are ready,” Oliver replied, holding out his arm for her like he usually did and Felicity linked her arm with him.

 

 

“So how many of those fancy occasions do you have to go to each year?” Oliver asked, handing Felicity a glass of champagne.

“Usually there aren’t this much,” Felicity replied, “but somehow now seems to be the time everyone wants to throw a fancy party.”

Felicity looked around. The room was beautifully decorated. A big band was playing on the stage, some couples dancing to the music.

“This really is one of the nicer parties,” Felicity told him, “but I wasn’t expecting anything else. Ray Palmer is said to be one of the better party planners.”

“Well, thank you very much.”

Felicity quickly turned around and found a tall man with dark hair in a suit standing only a few feet away. He was smiling at her widely, glancing to his side where John stood with his arms crossed in front of his chest and his eyes narrowed at him every now and then. Felicity quickly stepped closer, putting a hand to John’s elbow. Immediately he stepped a little to the side, giving Felicity room.

“Mr. Palmer,” Felicity said, holding out a hand. “It is a pleasure to finally meet you in person and get to know a face to the friendly voice.”

“Oh, thank you very much,” he replied, shaking her hand, “but please call me Ray.”

“Okay, then please call me Felicity,” Felicity responded, smiling.

“You know, your name is almost like a statement, and I have to admit that it got me nosy. I might have googled a picture of you, so I could imagine a face to the name,” Ray told her. Felicity’s face must have given away the slightest of discomfort she was feeling at the idea that he had searched the web for a picture of her because he quickly added, “You know, I was really just nosy, and given that you took over a company that has been in the headlines for years, it wasn’t really difficult to find a photo of you and, yeah, I know it might look a little weird, but I was really just nosy.”

Felicity bit her tongue, almost amused about the fact that he was talking just as quickly as she did when she was babbling. She barely ever met anyone who talked as quickly as she did, and when she did meet someone like that, it was usually a different woman. Somehow she had never met a man who talked that quickly.

“I see you doubled down on your security,” Ray stated. “From what I heard about you, you usually only bring one bodyguard.”

Felicity frowned and followed Ray’s eyes to Oliver. Only then she understood that Ray was mistaking Oliver for another one of her bodyguards.

“Oh, no”, she said with a chuckle, shaking her head. “Jonas is a friend who was kind enough to accompany me tonight.”

Oliver stepped next to her and held out a hand for Ray. When the two shook hands, Ray winced slightly. His hand was smaller than Oliver’s, and if the look on Ray’s face was any indication, Oliver’s handshake was a lot firmer than his own.

“Jonas King,” Oliver introduced himself.

“Ray Palmer,” Ray replied.

Oliver nodded shortly before he pulled his hand back. “How do you two know each other?”

“Felicity suggested that Palmer Technologies should join in on a project that was just started at Smoak Technologies,” Ray explained.

“But unfortunately Palmer Technologies had no free capacities,” Felicity added, “so Ray needed to take a pass.”

“And I regret it dearly,” Ray replied.

Felicity chuckled slightly. “Well, that is the least I expect.”

“Wouldn’t working together be like helping the concurrent?” Oliver asked.

“No, Palmer Technologies and Smoak Technologies work in very different areas, so each other’s expertise would be needed and not …” Felicity glanced at Oliver shortly before she waved the matter off. “It’s complicated and really doesn’t matter right now.”

She turned back to Ray, seeing from the corner of her eyes how Oliver pushed his hands into the pockets of his pants. Just when she was about to ask Ray if he was satisfied with his party, a young woman with dark hair stepped closer.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Palmer, but Professor Stein wants to talk to you before he goes back to Central City,” she said.

“Yes, of course,” Ray replied to her before he looked back at Felicity with an apologetic smile. “I am sorry, but duty calls. I hope we will get around talking some more later.”

“That would be nice, yes,” Felicity responded with a smile.

Ray took her hand and lifted it to her lips, kissing her knuckles, before he turned around and followed the young woman to where Professor Stein was waiting for him. Felicity’s eyes followed his movements, watching him leave.

“So he googled a picture of you?” Oliver asked in a whisper, leaning a little closer to her. “Is it only me or are warning bells ringing in some else’s head too?”

Felicity frowned, looking at him. “Why would that make warning bells ring? He just googled a photo to have a face in mind when talking to me. There is nothing wrong with that.”

“It’s a stalker tendency.”

Felicity snorted. “Now you’re completely exaggerating. He was just nosy about me.”

“He seems goofy or should I rather say like Goofy?” Oliver asked. “Besides, what’s interesting about him anyway?”

“He is smart, good-looking and single,” Felicity replied. “Those are three very interesting things about a man which doesn’t mean that I am interested in him.”

“Your eyes said something else.”

“My eyes said-“ Felicity started, but reconsidered her choice of words. “Ray Palmer is the perfect man for a woman like me, and it doesn’t hurt to check out possibilities for whenever my life will allow me to date someone or whatever.”

Oliver made a sound Felicity didn’t know how to describe before he turned around. “He is not that good-looking.”

Felicity turned her head, following Oliver’s gaze to where Ray was now talking to Professor Stein. For the break of a second she considered telling Oliver that Ray was indeed one of the most eligible bachelors in the technology area. In addition to being handsome, smart and single he was also leading a quite successful company and was pretty wealthy which made him more attractive to a lot of women too.

“Just so you know,” Oliver whispered, pushing his hands into the pockets of his pants and leaning down to her, so only she could hear, “if you stop hiring me in the next four weeks, I will take the fern back.”

Felicity chuckled, gently patting Oliver’s chest. “Don’t worry. I am sure I will find someone to recommend you to when I decide that I shouldn’t need you anymore. And I am so going to keep the fern,” she added in a whisper like she didn’t want him to hear, but she purposefully didn’t lower her voice enough to make it inaudible for him.

“Well, that is the least I expect,” Oliver replied.

When Felicity turned her face to him, he winked at her and Felicity chuckled. “Hey, I always take care of my employees when I need to dismiss them. You know, I already offered John the position as head of security for the company.”

“Oh really?” Oliver asked looking at John, who stood just in reach to hear them talk.

“Not ready for a lame job in the office yet,” John replied.

“He will change his mind when he sees his beautiful baby in the arms of his amazing wife,” Felicity explained, looking at John with a warm smile.

Her friend chuckled, shrugging his shoulders. “It might be, but I wouldn’t bet on it.”

As soon as Felicity had heard that John was going to be a father, she had told him to take another job, one that was safer. John wasn’t interested in working in an office, though. He wanted to be out. Felicity had told him that he could change his mind anytime. Once his baby was born, he might agree to her offer. Being a father should be a priority to him before protecting Felicity. It wasn’t like the job as her bodyguard was particularly dangerous right now, but you could never be careful enough. Felicity didn’t want to be guilty of orphaning a child, not that she would exactly orphan it because she wouldn’t be the one killing John, but if he took a bullet for her, she would definitely feel guilty. Hopefully it would never get this far, but you could never know.

“Hey, do you want to dance?” Oliver asked.

“Huh?” Felicity asked, gulping down the rest of her champagne quickly.

“Do you want to dance?” Oliver repeated his question, nodding to the dance floor. “I think you mentioned earlier that you couldn’t wait for the music, so you could dance.”

“Oh, right,” Felicity said and put her empty glass away. Oliver already held out a hand for her to take, but Felicity turned to John first. “You know, it’s a quiet evening, and it’s quite safe in here, so you could also just head home and be with Lyla. Enjoy some time together before the baby is born.”

John took a quick look around through the room like he was expecting someone with a gun to appear in the crowd of people and right out approach them. He sighed quietly before he turned back towards her.

“Are you sure?”

Felicity nodded. “There haven’t been any threats lately, so maybe whoever sent them finally accepted that I am not going anywhere.”

John gave her a long look that didn’t miss out on letting her know that he doubted that. He glanced at Oliver and decided to keep those doubts for himself, though. Instead he gave her a short nod.

“Okay, fine. I am sure Lyla will be happy,” he said and stepped forward, placing a gentle kiss on her cheek. “Thank you, Felicity.”

“You are welcome,” Felicity replied with a warm smile, “and don’t forget to bring her ice cream.”

“I wouldn’t dare to,” John answered. He gave Oliver a quick look. “I still stand to what I said when you were first hired.”

Oliver gave him a short nod. “I will keep that in mind.”

“You should.”

John smiled at Felicity once more before he left. Felicity looked after him for a moment before she turned around to Oliver. “So we dance now?”

Oliver held out his hand. “I’m just waiting for you.”

“Oh, what a gentleman,” Felicity replied with a chuckle, putting her fingers into his hand.

 

 

As soon as the door to the backseats of the limousine was closed behind them, Felicity slipped out of her shoes and stretched out her legs. Sighing, she rested her head back against the cold leather and closed her eyes with a content sigh.

“This evening was great,” she said with a smile.

“Great music, great food.”

“And great company.”

“I hope you are speaking about me and not about Palmer.”

Frowning, Felicity opened an eye. She blinked at Oliver, seeing him looking out of the window innocently. She thought about just ignoring his comment, but she knew herself too well. She would lie awake all night because her head would insist on getting answers, so she better get this conversation over with right now and not put it off for later.

“Okay, consider me intrigued.”

Oliver turned his face to her, looking at her with a frown. “Pardon?”

Felicity rolled her eyes. “You have let your dislike for him show all evening which by the way is not really professional and I don’t necessarily mean that as a critic on your work because you’re doing your job well, very well to be exact, but I am a little bit surprised you would talk about a friend of mine like that. Well, technically we are not really friends, but-“

“See?” Oliver asked. “That’s the difference.”

“Huh?” Felicity said.

“You’re not friends, but we are friends, and as your friend I am worried about you,” Oliver told her, “and I might also be scared that your bodyguard kills me if I don’t take care of you whenever he’s not around.”

Felicity opened her mouth already about to reply, but the response got stuck in her throat when his word caught up to her. She didn’t even know what part of those words to focus on first.

Oliver thought they were friends. Were they? Admittedly, they were spending quite some evenings together and it was always fun. They could joke around, and she could enjoy his company. They could even get pretty close considering what they did after the official part of her evening was over, but did that make them friends? They only talked about shallow things, never had any deep conversations, but then again she didn’t have much of those with John either, and he definitely was her friend.

Well, and Oliver being scared of John was just ridiculous. For most men John could be quite intimidating because of his broad chest and strong arms. Oliver wasn’t that bad either, though. She had felt his abs through his shirt when she had stroked her hands down his chest while they had been at it a few times. Oliver might not have the same excessive training as John had received during his time in the Army and wherever else he had learned what was needed to hold himself in a fight, but at least Oliver had the physical qualification to be able to fight back.

He would never have to fight back, though, because John wouldn’t hurt him unless he hurt her, and Felicity didn’t see that happening because it would threaten his job. John wouldn’t blame Oliver if Felicity trusted someone she wasn’t supposed to trust and-

“I can almost see all the little gears working in your head,” Oliver interrupted her thoughts.

Felicity took in a breath and bit down on her bottom lip, thinking about what to talk about first for a short moment. “We are friends?”

Oliver shrugged his shoulders. “Sure, why not? If you can be friends with your bodyguard, you can also be friends with me.”

“Well, I am not sleeping with John,” Felicity said and despite the firmness of her voice a blush spread on her cheeks. “It’s not the same.”

“You know, my job is more than just spend some company on a party or pleasure my clients,” Oliver told her. “I also have be a good listener, and that is an important attitude for a friend, right?”

“So you’re saying you’re a casual therapist like a bartender or something?” Felicity asked, perking up an eyebrow.

“Kind of,” Oliver replied with a quiet chuckle, “but since I usually know my clients better than most bartenders know their guests, I rather consider myself a friend.”

“Hm,” Felicity made, frowning slightly.

What he said made sense. He wouldn’t even be her first paid friend given that John was her friend and employee too. Maybe it wasn’t a bad idea to consider Oliver a friend too.

“Okay, let’s just assume that we really are friends,” Felicity said slowly, “what makes you think that as my friend you need to protect me from Ray?”

“I don’t feel like I need to protect you,” Oliver explained. “I just think he is… nerdy.”

Felicity frowned. “I am nerdy.”

“No, you’re not.”

“I absolutely am.”

“Okay, maybe you are, but you’re different nerdy and…” Oliver shook his head, chuckling quietly. “I just know spoilt, rich guys like him, and I don’t like them.”

“Ray doesn’t exactly come across as a spoilt, rich guy,” Felicity replied, “but your doubts about him are duly noted.”

“Thank you very much,” Oliver replied, “and if you feel I am crossing a line with-“

“Oh, don’t worry,” Felicity said quickly, waving his worry off. “Your dislike for him is almost amusing. I never thought you’d be a slander-loving Chatty Cathy.”

“Chatty Cathy?”

“Yes, like the doll that-“

“I know what Chatty Cathy is, but it’s definitely not me,” Oliver said, almost pouting.

Felicity chuckled, slapping his chest lightly. “Shave, grow your hair a little longer, and you are.”

Oliver was about to say something back when the deep voice of the driver sounded from the intercom.

“I am sorry Ms. Smoak, but apparently there has been an accident. We are stuck in traffic, and from what it looks like it will take some time until we get home. I could try to get around the bridge, but-“

“Thanks, Charles, but that probably won’t spare us much time either, right?”

“That was what I was about to say, yes.”

Felicity rested her head back against the cold leather with a sigh. She wanted to be home, get off by using Oliver for her pleasure and then fall asleep immediately. The last thing she wanted right now was to be stuck in traffic and spend more time in this limousine. The day had been long enough already.

Sighing, she turned her head to look at Oliver. She frowned at his intense gaze, eyeing him up closely. There was consideration in his eyes, and he had his lips pursed slightly.

“What?” she asked.

“Do you intend to use the special service tonight?” Oliver asked.

Felicity pressed her lips together slightly, nodding her head and humming her agreement. “That was the plan though I might have to cancel that plan if we don’t make it to my house in a short amount of time because I think I might be too tired to hold on until-“

“What if you didn’t need to hold on?”

“What?”

Oliver chuckled, reaching out a hand and putting it to her thigh. She could feel the warmth of his hand through the thin fabric of her dress, and it made a content shiver run down the length of her spine, probably leaving goosebumps. When she looked up at him, she found his eyes on her already.

“We’re alone, and we have time,” Oliver explained, “so if you don’t want to hold on-“

Felicity bit down on her bottom lip, looking around. “Here?”

“Why not?” Oliver asked with a slight chuckle.

Why not? Well, Felicity could name several reasons why they shouldn’t do this here like the driver only being a couple feet away with only a thin barrier separating the front and the back of the car. She also wasn’t sure if even this spacious limousine offered the room they would need because she really didn’t want to twist herself like a pretzel to get her pleasure.

“You know, I don’t think it’s necessary to twist yourself,” Oliver told her, making her realize that she had said this out loud, “though I might enjoy the sight of that. Anyway, the limo should be spacious enough for some fun.”

Felicity took in a deep breath, considering the idea. If she waited until they were home, she might be too tired to go through with it. She had looked forward to her almost weekly Oliver-induced orgasm, though. Having someone pleasure her was just so much better than giving herself some pleasure, so-

“Okay,” she said, already pulling the hem of her dress up her legs. “Let’s do this.”

Before she could change her mind like she was almost sure she would if she thought about it for too long, she quickly slid over to where Oliver was sitting and straddled his lap. Her legs were bent on the seat next to his thighs. While her hands were resting on his shoulders, Oliver put his hands on her hips. He started moving her hips instantly, letting her feel his soft cock between her clothed folds, and Felicity bit down on her bottom lip to silence the quiet moan that was escaping her already.

“What do you want?”

Felicity kept moving her hips against him, locking eyes with him. The sensation between her legs, his cock hardening more and more with each time she pressed down on him, and the intense expression in his deep blue eyes did things to her. She felt herself getting into the right mood.

“I think you already know, don’t you?”

“I guess I do,” Oliver replied. He licked his lips, keeping his eyes on her face while he was moving against her lazily. “Anything in particular?”

Felicity shook her head. “Just like usually.”

“Then just like usually,” Oliver agreed.

When he straightened up in his seat, bending his head back, Felicity lifted her chin slightly, making her neck longer. Oliver’s lips landed on the underside of her jaw, pressing down there gently. Felicity slid a hand into his hair, massaging his scalp. It was her way of letting him know that he should continue. The soft touch of his lips against her sensitive skin was always a welcome additional sensation that added perfectly to the feeling of his hardening cock pressing to her center.

She hummed contently when she felt Oliver sucking at her skin, and she closed her eyes, focusing on the sensations. She wasn’t worried that Oliver would leave a hickey because he had never done so. He always let go just in time before he would leave a mark. Oliver bit down on the side of her neck gently, and Felicity hissed. He soothed the bite with his tongue, stroking the flat of it against the maltreated skin and licking it carefully.

“Oh yes,” Felicity whispered.

Tightening her hold on his shoulder, she lifted herself from his lap slightly before pressing down harder. She moaned, Oliver’s hard cock pressing right to her entrance. She could feel the wetness pooling between her legs as she was getting aroused. She could feel her stomach tingling, her lust increasing.

When Oliver’s lips lowered further down to her chest and he bit down on her collarbone, Felicity pressed herself closer to him. She angled her hips slightly, so she could rub against him in a way that brought her even more pleasure. She slid back and forth on his lap, his cock pressing to her entrance the entire time, the thin layers of clothes barely taking away of the sensation. Actually the zipper of his pants only made the feeling between her legs even more enjoyable. When Felicity was sitting in his lap completely again, she slid back on his length, leaning forward. The delicious friction on her clit caused her to moan.

Felicity hummed. “This feels good.”

“Yeah?” Oliver whispered against her chest, and the breath that ghosted over her skin when he did so elicited goosebumps that Oliver’s lips followed to the top of her breasts.

“Oh, yes,” Felicity whispered. “Please play with my breasts.”

Felicity thrust down on him particularly firmly while she whispered her wish to him. She had never enjoyed having someone caressing her breasts more than with Oliver. He knew exactly how to lick and nibble her nipples to use all the potential of the sensitive area. She bit down on her bottom lip, even the anticipation arousing her, when Oliver pulled down one strap of her dress and blew a breath against her nipple.

“Yes,” Felicity moaned.

She could feel herself getting wetter, and her movements against him sped up in response. When Oliver’s lips closed around her nipple, his flat tongue moving against the sensitive skin, Felicity formed a fist around some of the short hair at the back of his head. She kept him in place, pressing his head more against her breast. Oliver caught her nipple between his teeth, pulling gently.

“God, yes. Just like that,” Felicity whispered.

Her movements sped up. She pressed her center against Oliver’s cock eagerly, rubbing her clit against his pelvis at the same time. Oliver’s hands slid under her butt, encouraging her movements. He pressed her down onto him more firmly, thrusting up at the same time, so the friction increased, getting even better. Her stomach pressed to his abs, and she could feel them tensing with his movements. She would love to sneak her hands under the fabric of his shirt and explore the skin to find out if it felt soft or hard, but she didn’t. Instead her hands tightened in Oliver’s hair, enjoying the multiple sensations. Every time he pulled her down on him, his tongue flicked over her hard nipple, teasing it.

“Yes, yes, yes,” Felicity chanted in a whisper.

She was barely moving away from him now, only pressing herself closer and closer to his crotch, never losing the friction. Her legs ached in an effort to move more quickly, each muscle tense. Oliver sucked her nipple into his mouth, his head turning slightly, so he could rub his stubble against her skin. It made her moan out loudly, and she quickly pressed a hand to her lips, remembering that the driver wasn’t that far away.

The waves of pleasure took her higher and higher. The combined stimulation of his lips working on her sensitive breast and his cock rubbing against her core was so amazing. She felt her skin heating up, feeling like it was burning. She felt her orgasm approaching, but unlike the other times they had done this, she felt the high not only coming from the friction between her legs. The way Oliver licked her nipple made a second source of pleasure take over her body.

“Oh god,” Felicity moaned, panting. “Yes, yes, yes. Right there, right there. Just a little- Oh!”

Felicity’s arms tightened around Oliver’s neck, her head falling forward. She pressed her lips to her forearm, even biting down on her own skin slightly to silence her sounds of pleasure. Her body felt like it was on fire, like heat was radiating of her skin. Slight spasms ran through her arms and legs, making her jerk against him whenever the tip of his tongue lazily moved over her nipple.

She was riding out her orgasm against him, enjoying every wave of pleasure she could get. Oliver was still hard in his pants. In all the times she had used him for her pleasure, he had never come. Instead he had let her move against the outline of his long, thick cock as long as she had wanted to until her moments would stop. Felicity dropped her weight into his lap and rested her head on his shoulder with a sigh. Oliver’s hands moved up and down between her hips and her waist slowly.

“Anything else you want?”

It was always the same. She let herself be pleasured by getting eaten out or rubbing against him. Then she would catch her breath for a few seconds before Oliver would ask if there was anything else she wanted. Her answer had always been a firm no. She had wanted an orgasm and once she had gotten that, she had told him that he could leave.

This situation was different, though. As satisfied as she was with her orgasm, she already felt a new craving inside of her. With the way Oliver’s cock still pressed against her firmly, pushing the damp fabric of her panties against her sensitive skin, her lust didn’t seem to vanish easily. Her body craved more, craved for the fantasies she had of how she wanted to be sexually satisfied. Dry humping and receiving oral had been great to really bring back her appetite for sex after the long time of living celibately. Now her body was ready for more, though. Her hips pressed against his crotch at the thought of how much more she could get if she really gave into Oliver’s service, and she moaned quietly in response.

Felicity put her hands to Oliver’s shoulders and pushed herself in a rather upright position. She slid further down on his thighs, bringing some distance between his hard cock and her sensitive sex. She looked into Oliver’s eyes, noticing that they were slightly darker than they had been before. She put a hand to the stubble on his cheek, gently stroking her fingertips against the short hair. Felicity licked her lips at the scratchy yet tickling feeling against her sensitive skin.

When Felicity had decided that hiring Oliver on a regular basis was the right decision that would give her exactly what she wanted and needed without requiring that she put too much time and effort into building any form of real relationship to him, she had immediately set up boundaries. Boundaries were what had got her through life. It kept her focused on what was important and made sure her private life and temporary wishes wouldn’t get in the way of her long-term, mainly professional goals.

For the situation with Oliver, that meant that she had set up boundaries in how far she was willing to go. When he had asked her what she wanted in the first night together, she had told him that she wanted ‘normal’, not even knowing what that was supposed to mean. She had just thought that she didn’t want the situation to be more awkward than it had felt like already. Then he had laughed about her wish to want something normal, so Felicity had thought about what she really wanted, and she had decided that she needed to set rules for herself to establish how far she was willing to go.

She had decided to not have him inside of her for now because there were so much other fun activities they could do that wouldn’t include that much physical closeness. She had also decided that whatever they would do, they would do it mostly clothed. Last but not least she had decided to never kiss him. She had let him pleasure her by kissing and licking and nibbling at her jaw and neck and down to her breast, but she had never really explored his body other than by stroking her hands over his back and chest through his shirt.

Those were her boundaries that she felt she needed to get what she wanted without losing focus. In the limited room here in the back of the limo, pressed closed to him, Felicity started to question her limits, though. His lips looked so soft, and she wondered how they would fit against hers and what they would taste like. She licked her lips like she could already taste his lips on hers.

They stayed like this for a moment longer, her hand resting on his cheek and their eyes locked on each other. Only when Oliver straightened up, bringing his lips closer to hers, Felicity quickly moved. She put her head back a little and lifted her chin, so Oliver’s lips landed on her neck instead.

Felicity sucked in a deep breath. She squeezed her eyes shut and bit down on her bottom lip. Boundaries were important. Boundaries were-

“What else do you want, Felicity?”

She couldn’t say what it was. Was it the feeling that her brain was still in post-coital bliss? Was it the feeling of having his hard cock pressed against her sensitive folds? Was it the feeling of his breath ghosting over the side of her neck? Was it all of it together or maybe none of this at all?

Felicity couldn’t say, and it didn’t matter. She licked her lips, releasing a long breath.

“I want you inside of me.”

She could feel the heat radiating off her face when a deep blush spread on her cheeks. There it was. She had said it, and she didn’t regret it, no matter how much her body tried to make her believe that she should be ashamed for saying it. She wasn’t. That was what she wanted, boundaries or not.

“Tell me more,” Oliver said, his lips against her skin.

Felicity frowned. “Uhm… I don’t-“

“Do you want it gentle and slow or rough and quick? Do you want us to get undressed? Do you want a certain position? Do you-“

“I-“ Felicity started, but quickly sucked in a breath and gathered her thoughts. “I want it quick, but not too rough. We should stay in the position we are in now, and I think getting rid of clothes is not necessary. It’s enough if we… push them out of the way.”

Felicity nodded to herself, pressing her lips together. Oliver cocked his head, eyeing up the expression on her face. Felicity snorted once before she burst out in full-hearted laughter.

“I’m sorry,” she said, still laughing.

She pressed a hand to her mouth, trying to take in a deep breath. Instead she laughed even more, barely being able to hold back, and in a way the lack of understanding in Oliver’s eyes only made it worse. He must think that she was crazy like so many people thought she was crazy. Usually they discovered that much sooner than after pleasuring her several times over the last weeks, but given the lack of people who got to do that she probably shouldn’t be surprised. It had been only a matter of time until he would find out, though.

“I’m sorry,” Felicity said, fanning herself. “I am really sorry, but saying those words has been a little… clinical or whatever to call it. It was definitely not sexy, more like I was ordering- Oh my god!”

Felicity moaned when Oliver thrust up while keeping onto her hips tightly. Her hands gripped his shoulders, her fingers digging into his clothes tightly. She pressed her lips together, keeping herself from moaning out too loud.

“You order, I deliver,” Oliver mumbled against her throat, “and don’t worry, Felicity. I promise you that it definitely won’t feel clinical.”

Felicity hummed contently at those words. She loved this huskiness in Oliver’s voice. It sent shivers down her back and jolt of pleasure right to her core. She rubbed herself against him, biting down on her bottom lip. Her head fell back as she was just enjoying the sensation. Oliver’s lips pressed to the side of her neck, his teeth grazing her sensitive skin.

Oliver’s hands were still firmly on her hips, moving them on top of him, so she was pressing down whenever he thrust up. Felicity licked her lips before pressing them together tightly to keep herself from moaning and whimpering too loud, the thought of the driver being close enough to hear them still in the back of her mind.

She was still so sensitive that it didn’t take long for her to be worked back up. Slowly she loosened her hands from his shoulders and moved them down his chest. His muscles felt so hard, and once more she wished that she could just sneak her hands under the fabric of his clothes and explore his skin. She knew that it was probably smarter to only cross one boundary at a time, so she kept her hands over his shirt.

When she reached the waistband of his pants, she quickly unbuckled his belt, unbuttoned his pants and lowered the zipper. Before she could even think twice about it, she reached into his pants and froze slightly.

“You’re not wearing underwear.”

Oliver mumbled something against her chest, his lips now lowering even deeper until they reached the nipple he had caressed before already. Whatever hesitation there had been when she had felt his naked erection against her fingers faded away as soon as his flat tongue pressed to her newly hardening nipple. She pressed herself closer to him, arching her back to give him better access.

Her fingers that had moved away from his cock at the surprise of finding no barrier between them anymore slowly moved back to his lap. She took hold of the base of his cock, eliciting a rumble from somewhere deep in Oliver’s throat, and slowly moved her hand upwards. She measured him in her hand, feeling that he was just as thick and long as she had thought whenever she had rubbed against him in the last weeks. Her pinky followed a vein at the underside of his hard member, and Oliver released another one of those grumbles that seemed to have a direct connection to her core because she could feel her walls clenching with need.

Had she ever heard him make a sound when they had been… at it? Felicity had always been so focused on her own pleasure, still was in some ways, that she had never really paid attention to him. She didn’t even know why she noticed it now. She just knew that she noticed, and she liked hearing that sound from him. She tightened her fist around him, squeezing gently, and it elicited the same sound once more.

Oliver’s head fell back. He was looking at her with darkened eyes, and it made Felicity’s stomach fluttered with pleasure. Their eyes stayed locked on each other’s for a moment. When Oliver straightened up, his lips aiming for hers once more, Felicity leaned back a little, staying out of reach. Her breasts still pressed against his chest, but he couldn’t reach her lips anymore. Instead they landed on her jaw and he brushed them over her skin to her ear.

“Do you have a condom?” Felicity asked.

“Mhm,” Oliver hummed, moved one of his hands from her hip to the pocket of his pants and pulled out a foil package. He held it out for her and asked, “Do you want to-?”

“No,” Felicity replied quickly.

Putting her hands back to his shoulders, she held onto him as she slid further down on his thighs until she was sitting on his knees. She watched him ripping open the foil package with his teeth and spitting the bit of foil that was ripped away to the seat next to him. He stroked himself once before he rolled the condom onto him. Felicity licked her lips, the anticipation of having him inside of her, having someone inside of her for the first time in a long time, turning her on beyond belief. She could feel her panties dampening more and more even thinking about it.

Once he was seated in the latex, Oliver carelessly threw the empty foil package away and pulled Felicity back closer to him. Felicity whimpered slightly when he brushed against her covered folds. While Oliver’s lips found her neck once more, his fingers snuck between them. He stroked her through her damp lace and Felicity moaned, automatically moving against his fingers.

“Move them under the lace,” Felicity whispered.

She moved her arms around Oliver’s neck and leaned her head against his. With a deep sigh she released a breath she had been holding when Oliver’s rough fingertips moved under the lace of her panties and stroked her wet folds. They moved from right over her entrance up towards her clit, the wetness making it easy. He circled it, and Felicity’s hips bucked, trying to get more friction.

Oliver parted his lips from her neck and rubbed his stubbled cheek to her chest. Felicity moved a hand into his hair, keeping his chin there. She knew it might leave some beardburn, but she didn’t care. It felt too good. Felicity looked down at him and saw that his eyes had turned even darker.

“Are you ready?” he asked, and Felicity nodded quickly. Oliver’s fingers moved away from under her panties and traced the lace. “Do you want me to rip it off of you?”

Felicity bit her bottom lip. Part of her wanted to see that, see how he used the strong muscles in his arms to rip that disturbing piece of clothing off of her. Then on the other hand it was one of her favorite panties, and she didn’t want to leave the limo and go to her house without anything on her. No matter how damp the fabric was and how short the way from the limo to the house was, she didn’t want that.

“I’ll just keep it out of the way,” Felicity replied.

She kneeled up, hovering right over his lap. One hand was holding onto his shoulder for leverage, while the other was keeping the garment out of the way. Oliver took hold of his cock. He moved the tip through her folds from her clit to her entrance and back three times before he positioned himself at her entrance. He looked at her with dark eyes, and slowly Felicity lowered herself onto him.

His cock stretched her perfectly. It felt good, really good. He was half the way in her when she hissed slightly, though. As great as the stretch felt, it was also too much. She hadn’t had someone inside her in quite some time, and she took a moment to let herself adjust, getting used to the feeling she had almost forgotten. She closed her eyes, biting down on her bottom lip.

Oliver rubbed soothing circles on her hip with his thumb. His lips pressed to the top of her breast for a moment before she felt him lower the second strap of her dress. His lips traveled down and closed around her nipple. Felicity released a long moan. She felt herself getting even wetter, her inner walls starting to welcome the stretch of his cock inside of her more than fighting it again.

Her fingers were almost clawing into his shoulder as she lowered herself further onto him. His tongue kept playing with her nipple until she was sitting in his lap, his cock deep inside of her. Then Oliver rested his head back, looking up at her with a hunger in his eyes that made her insides do things Felicity couldn’t even describe.

For a long moment neither of them moved. Once again Felicity found herself drawn to his lips. She didn’t kiss him, but she did reach out a hand and swiped her thumb over the soft skin, enjoying the touch against her finger. Oliver pressed his lips against her skin, kissing the finger, and Felicity shuddered. It had been so long since someone had done something like this for her. Actually, nobody had ever done something like this for her.

“Quick but not too rough,” Oliver repeated her words from before with husky voice.

Felicity bit down on her bottom lip and nodded when suddenly the limo started moving. The sudden movement made Felicity bump against Oliver slightly, and he slipped into her deeper. Felicity panted, her body slumping against his. She already knew that she wouldn’t need much time to come. She was so sensitive, not used to having someone inside of her. She was sure it wouldn’t take long. Besides, the slight movement of the car sent vibrations through their bodies, making them move against each other a little.

When they met a pothole in the street, Felicity moved against him once more. Then when Oliver’s hips snapped up into hers when they moved out of the pothole, the driver’s voice sounded over the intercom, “The traffic cleared, Ms. Smoak. I think we should be home in around ten minutes.”

Felicity tried to answer or at least thank him for the information, but she couldn’t even form a word. The car was moving more now like there were stones or gravel they were driving on. Every little movement made Oliver move inside of her.

“Thank you very much,” she suddenly heard Oliver say.

His voice sounded almost normal, just slightly tense. When she pulled back, she saw that his jaws were clenched. She pressed her lips together, quickly taking a look around.

“You’re looking for something?”

“Just making sure the intercoms are off,” Felicity quickly replied. “I don’t want Charles to listen to what we are doing.”

“Are they off?”

“Yes.”

When Felicity turned her gaze back to Oliver, she licked her lips, just focusing on the look on his face. His eyes were still dark, his lips slightly opened. Not taking her eyes off him, she lifted herself off him slightly and then thrust back down, releasing a long moan.

Why had she tried to keep herself from this? Felicity had always enjoyed sex. The fact that she hadn’t had time to get to know someone to have sex with shouldn’t have kept her from allowing herself to do this with Oliver. Maybe she didn’t know him, but she didn’t have to. They didn’t have sex to emotionally bond with each other. They had sex because she needed it and because she didn’t want to withhold herself from getting pleasure just because her job was exhausting.

Slowly Felicity started setting a rhythm. She was moving quickly, thrusting down firmly. The sound of skin slapping against skin echoed through the small room of the back of the car. It mixed with the sounds of her moans and the occasional pants Oliver released. She could completely focus on her movements, the sounds and their locked eyes.

When Oliver slid further down in the seat, he hit that one spot inside of her that immediately made her toes curl. Oliver started answering her thrust. Whenever she thrust down onto him, he moved his hips up. Her fingers clawed deeper into his shoulders, her moans getting louder.

“I’m close,” Felicity let him know. She felt her inner walls fluttering around him. “I’m so close.”

She was close, so incredibly close. Her legs had tensed so much they almost hurt. She was barely able to move anymore, but she did. She thrust down onto him, swirling her hips, to feel him press against her inner walls. The heat coiling in her stomach was getting bigger and bigger, consuming more and more of her body. She just needed a little more – a little more friction, feeling him a little deeper inside of her, feeling his hips snap against hers a little more firmly.

“Please,” she hissed when her legs tensed so much that she couldn’t get herself to lower herself onto him again.

Immediately he held onto her hips, holding her in the position, while he was thrusting up into her. He started out slowly, mimicking the rhythm she had set before, but soon his movements got quicker. His hips snapped into hers, his cock quickly sliding in and out of her.

“Felicity.”

Only now she realized she had closed her eyes and let her head fall back. At the sound of her name coming from his lips with husky voice Felicity looked back at him, though. If his eyes had been dark before, they were black by now.

“Do you want to come?” he asked her, his voice low.

“Oh god, yes,” Felicity replied with a moan.

“Do you want me to come?”

Felicity moaned out once more. She had never been much into dirty talk, mostly because the guys she had been with didn’t seem to understand the difference between talking dirty and calling her names. This - hearing Oliver ask her these questions with husky voice while looking at her with these dark eyes that were full of desire - was turning her on, a lot.

“Felicity,” Oliver asked again firmly and snapped his hips against hers, “Do you want me to come?”

“Yes, yes!”

Oliver moved a hand between them and started circling her clit with his fingers quickly, and Felicity closed her eyes. Three more very hard thrust and she was coming. The familiar prickling that had started in her toes exploded and spread through her body. The orgasms she had had the last times she had been with him had been good, but this was so much better. It took her on a wave of pleasure that was so high Felicity almost felt like she was floating. Oliver was still moving, prolonging her orgasm.

When her pleasure decreased, all tension leaving her body, she melted against him just in time to feel him tensing. His muscles stiffened as he buried himself deep inside of her one last time. He groaned quietly, holding onto her hips tightly, and his cock jerked inside of her as he reached his own peak.

Felicity watched him, watching his face screwing up with pleasure. His lips were slightly opened, his eyes screwed shut. Felicity licked her lips, watching him, enjoying the sensation of his jerking cock inside of her. It made her body spasm slightly, and she leaned back a little and dropped her head back, closing her eyes as the new wave of pleasure ran through her body.

She had been so stupid to withhold herself from this pleasure when she could have had it for weeks. There was no difference between having him eating her out or rubbing against her and him being inside of her other than that it had the power to make her reach even higher peaks. The orgasm was so much more intense, so much better.

Felicity took deep breath, trying to catch her breath. Her lungs were burning. The pain of the tension that had stiffened her body when the pleasure had hit its peak was still lingering in her muscles, while every cell in her body was equally filled with satisfaction that reached deep into her bones.

Once she felt like her body had recovered from the high, she slowly lifted herself off of him, so Oliver slipped out of her. She tugged down the hem of her dress before she slumped into the leather seat next to him. Her head came to rest against the headrest with a sigh, but she turned her face to Oliver. He took the condom off himself, wrapped it into a tissue and discarded it in the small waste bin of the car. He then tugged his pants back in place, zipped and buttoned it.

When he looked up at her, Felicity quickly looked away, feeling a blush spreading on her face. She had always felt like the moment right after sex was weird. She never knew what to say then, and the silence had always felt awkward too. This wasn’t any different. She thought about what to say to lighten the mood if it even needed to be lightened and-

“You okay?”

“Hm?” Felicity asked, startled out of her thoughts.

“I was just asking if you are okay,” Oliver repeated. “You look a little…”

Oliver gestured towards her face with his hand, probably referring to the serious expression on her face. Felicity smiled.

“Yes, I’m fine,” she replied. “I’m just… tired.”

Oliver chuckled. “Yes, I know how you react to sex.”

Though Felicity blushed, she still lightly slapped his chest. “Be careful, Mister.”

Oliver easily caught her hand and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. She watched him doing so, feeling her stomach flutter slightly at how sweet the gesture was. Yet she pulled her hand back quickly. The quiet gesture felt just as awkward as most conversations after sex did.

“Is there anything you want different the next time?” Oliver asked. “Anything you didn’t like? Anything you imagined differently? Anything you-?”

Felicity chuckled. “I wouldn’t have taken you for a man to ask if he was good to be honest. Are you interrogating all your clients like this?”

“Usually my clients tell me what they want, when they want it.”

Felicity narrowed her eyes at him. “And you think I don’t do that?”

Oliver looked at her for a moment and then replied honestly, “I am not sure about it yet. Anyway, in my job you only earn yourself a good recommendation if you ask for critics. Every client wants something else, and I don’t want be wrong about what I think you want.”

For a split second Felicity considered asking him what he thought she wanted. She had always wondered what other people thought she was, what kind of person they thought she was. She decided against it, though, replying with an amused grin, “Well, well, Mr. Queen, I can attest you a nice tool and the knowledge of how to use it.”

“I don’t think anyone has ever said it like that,” Oliver said, laughing, “but I still take it as a compliment, so thank you very much.”

“You’re welcome.” Felicity chuckled, but soon fell quiet. “Do you hear that often? That you are good?”

Oliver grinned smugly. “I was one of the most favored escorts in Central City, so the answer is yes.”

Felicity narrowed her eyes slightly. “If you had a name there, why did you come here?”

She didn’t miss how Oliver tensed slightly, but she didn’t pull her question back. If she made fun about a man who seemed like a good guy to her because they were friends, then she could ask him something like that without feeling guilty for making him feel uncomfortable. Friends could ask uncomfortable questions, right?

“I had my reasons.”

“Which means?”

Oliver’s thumb rubbed against the tips of his other fingers nervously. He was avoiding her gaze for a moment. Only after the intake of a deep breath did he look at her again. His eyes were almost hard.

“It had something to do with my family.”

Felicity nodded slowly, waiting for him to continue, but he didn’t. Of course he didn’t. He never told her things about him, at least not things like that. She knew his name and that he had been living in Central City before, but that was it. Okay, she might know a little bit more given that she led the company that once upon a time had been his parents’, but it wasn’t really much. If the expression in his eyes was any indication, he didn’t want to change that.

They looked at each other for a long moment before she rested her head against the headrest and looked out of the window next to her. It was dark by now, the streetlamps the only sources of light. The moon was hidden behind clouds. Yet the night looked beautiful. Before she had the chance to really enjoy the sight, the limo stopped in front of her house. Sighing, Felicity stretched her slightly aching limbs.

“Should I accompany you to the door?” Oliver asked.

“No, thanks,” Felicity replied, her voice slightly tensed. She pulled her keys out of the small purse and took the coat she had carelessly pushed to one of the other seats when she had gotten into the car. “Thank you for accompanying me today and for the fern.”

Oliver smiled, nodding his head. “Of course.”

When Charles opened the door for her, Felicity was already turning to it, but Oliver held her back by putting a hand to her elbow. Felicity looked at him, seeing him looking at her with hesitation and an unasked question in his eyes. Felicity considered leaving nonetheless, but the way his now blue eyes looked at her made her give in.

“Can you give us another minute please?” Felicity asked Charles.

“Of course, Ms. Smoak,” he answered.

As soon as the door was closed, Oliver said, “I know that you want to know things about me. I think it is natural. I think-“

“Look, I see it like this,” Felicity interrupted him. “Either we continue to do this the professional way, or we try to be friends like you claimed we already are. I think there is a chance that we can manage to become friends, given our unconventional way of getting to know each other it would be weird friends but friends nonetheless. I spend more time with you than with a lot of other people, so I think there is a chance to become friends. If you want to be friends, though, then you need to give me something. You can’t ask me personal questions and tell me unprofessional things, claiming that we are friends, but always back off when I want to know something about you. That is not how friendship works and I am not willing to give myself into this when you don’t. It’s your choice, and you should think about it.”

She knocked at the window of the car door and Charles opened it for her. Felicity quickly got out, only glancing at Oliver shortly once more.

“Night,” she muttered under her breath. Not waiting for him to say anything, Felicity walked to her door, thinking about her words.

She had done the right thing. What she had said had needed to be said. Either they were limiting their connection to business, or they became friends. She spent a lot of time with Oliver, and it was easy with him, so she thought they could become friends. They probably would never be best friends who talked about everything, but they could be casual friends if there was something like that. That would only work if they really decided to be friends. Felicity didn’t want a one-sided friendship where he knew everything about her. That would never work for her.

As soon as she had unlocked the door, she stepped into the house. She closed the door behind her, locked it and pushed the door chain in place. Some leaves of the fern stroked against the back of her hand when she put her keys into the little bowl on the small table. She smiled slightly at the sight of the plant.

They could be friends or they could go back to being strict professionals. Felicity could live either way. Oliver just needed to tell her what he wanted.


	4. Chapter 4

With a low sigh Oliver pushed his phone back into the pocket of his jeans, taking a mental note to try getting Thea on the phone later today.

“Voicemail?” Tommy asked, putting his coffee mug down.

“Yes,” Oliver replied with a nod of his head. “You know, there was a time not that long ago when she wanted to talk to me several times a day. She was practically waiting next to her phone for me to call her, so she could tell me about her day. Since she’s in college and started dating this guy she is constantly talking about now, though, it’s almost impossible to get her on the phone at least once a week.”

Tommy chuckled. “Well, college offers the possibility to do interesting things.”

Oliver released a low grumble and muttered under his breath, “Let’s hope Speedy doesn’t do as interesting things as we did.”

College offered indeed a lot of interesting things. Oliver just hoped that his little sister would stick with the usual adventures college offered. The last thing he wanted was to see Thea following his footsteps and going astray from the way he had always thought was the right one.

“Have you settled back in Star City by now?” Tommy asked after awhile.

“Star City,” Oliver snorted, shaking his head. “I still don’t believe they renamed the city.”

Oliver felt Tommy watching him over the rim of his coffee mug for a moment. If his friend had considered having a serious conversation with him, he seemed to push that thought away quite quickly, though. Tommy chuckled quietly.

“You know, when you were in a bad mood like this during our college time, I always said you need to get laid,” Tommy explained. “I doubt your life lacks sexual intercourse right now, though.”

“Is that your way of asking how the job is going?”

Tommy chuckled. “I know it’s not easy to start from scratch without any established client base here, especially given your handsome and talented competition.”

Now it was Oliver’s turn to chuckle. “I guess you are talking about yourself?”

“We both know I do.”

Oliver shook his head, huffing a laugh. “Give me a little more time, and I will give you a run for your money.”

“Yeah, never gonna happen,” Tommy said, snorting. He chuckled, shaking his head before he got serious again. “You know, it’s really great you’re back. The city isn’t the same without you.”

Oliver nodded slowly. He had missed his best friend too. As much as he thought of himself as a friend for his clients, he also knew that those friendships were one-sided and had very narrow limits. Unlike with Tommy now he would never meet any of his client-friends in a café.

Felicity might think that she wanted a real friendship, one that included the both of them being friends to each other, but Oliver wasn’t sure that was even possible. It was tempting to try, but telling her about his past would also make him vulnerable, and vulnerability wasn’t something the job allowed him. It looked like he had no choice but to go back to being all professional with her. It wasn’t like they had crossed the line between professional and unprofessional by far, but maybe the tip of his toes had explored the other side of the boundary.

Given their last talk it seemed like Oliver would have to swallow down the teasing comments he enjoyed making around her. He wouldn’t get to hear her ramble in surprise of his words and blush in reaction to her words after that anymore, but it was necessary to get back to a more professional relationship if that was what she wanted.

Oliver sighed quietly and looked up. He frowned when he saw Tommy staring at nothing in particular with empty eyes, being distant.

“Okay, so after all the talk about me, I guess it’s time to talk about you now,” Oliver stated.

Tommy snapped out of his thoughts. He blinked several times and shook his head as if that was also shaking his daydreams off of him, avoiding his friend’s eyes.

“It’s nothing. We don’t need to talk about it. I-“

“Come on, Tommy,” Oliver said with a sigh. “You just listened about my problems with Thea for like half an hour. Just spit it out.”

Tommy pressed his lips together. He was obviously considering just rejecting his friend’s offer to talk. Oliver perked up an eyebrow. Usually Tommy was a lot more willing to talk than Oliver was. Tommy must have come to the same conclusion because he sighed, pushing his empty coffee mug away and resting his forearms on the tabletop.

“I met someone,” Tommy stated.

Oliver looked at him in surprise. “A girl?”

Tommy nodded. “I had to go to court last week to testify against my father. I was already late, so I was almost running and literally bumped into her. She had a bunch of papers that fell to the floor, and I helped her picking them back up. Then I looked at her, and she is just so beautiful and… Anyway, I gave her my number, and now we had dinner last week and are meeting for lunch tomorrow. She’s working as a lawyer for some non-profit organization and… I like her, Ollie. I really, really like her.”

Oliver didn’t say a word, just watching his friend. He couldn’t be serious. The last time Tommy Merlyn had looked like that when talking about a girl had been in second grade when he had fallen head over heels for a girl whose name Oliver couldn’t even remember anymore. Ever since second grade Tommy had only had flings or flirts or whatever to call it, though. It was why the decision to follow the handbill to the escort agency had been so easy for him. He had never pictured himself to be the kind of guy to fall in love, but he had loved sex, so why not make money doing something you enjoy?

“Does she know about your job?”

“Of course not,” Tommy replied, rolling his eyes. “That’s not something to blurt out during a first date.”

“But you are going to tell her, right?”

Tommy shrugged his shoulders. “I guess eventually I would have to.”

“And then?” Oliver asked back immediately.

There were a lot of jobs Oliver thought a girlfriend could have troubles with. Working for an escort service and offering special services definitely was one of those. Oliver honestly doubted that anyone would accept that this was just a job, at least when it was their own partner working that job.

“Of course she won’t like it,” Tommy replied, “but maybe there is still a chance. She will probably need some time to think about it, but maybe…”

He gestured with his hands, leaving the end of the sentence open.

Oliver shook his head. “Guys like us don’t get the girl.”

Tommy frowned, eyeing up his friend carefully. Oliver held his gaze though part of him wanted to look down and avoid his friend’s intense gaze. He bit down on his tongue, waiting for Tommy to say something.

“Do you-“

When Oliver’s phone rang, he quickly pulled it out of the pocket of his jeans. He glanced at the display shortly before shooting Tommy an apologetic look, letting him know that he had to answer the call. Propping his elbows up on the tabletop he took the call.

“Felicity,” he said, looking down at a coffee stain on the surface of the table. “What can I-“

Oliver stopped and frowned when he heard a series of noises he didn’t recognize. He distantly heard Felicity’s voice, mumbling something so quickly and quietly that he couldn’t understand a word. It sounded like she was talking to herself, but he wasn’t sure because he could also hear other voices, so maybe she was talking to someone around her. Oliver frowned.

“Felicity?” he asked again. “Felicity, do you hear me?”

“Hm?” she suddenly asked.

“Felicity?” Oliver replied, not sure if she was now talking to him.

“Oliver?”

“Yes,” Oliver responded. There was a long silence at the other end of the line. Frowning, Oliver took another look at the display of his phone, making sure she hadn’t hung up. “Hello?”

“Oh, yes. Oliver. What can I do for you?”

Oliver chuckled. “Felicity, you called me.”

“I did? Oh right! I did. I wanted to call you already, but everything is haywire here right now. We have an important presentation later today, and I feel like I am completely freaking out. It’s actually ridiculous because everything is prepared, and I should be completely calm about this because, like I said, everything is prepared, but I can’t stop it. I’m freaking out. And someone broke the coffee machine which is why I didn’t even get a mug of coffee which doesn’t help with my freak-out here either. What people break coffee machines and don’t admit it? I could have gotten someone here to fix it already, but since nobody told me it was broken, I didn’t know and couldn’t get anyone to fix it yet. Of course there are other coffeemakers in this building, but none of them is as good as mine. Maybe that was a hidden hint. Maybe someone wanted to tell me that they wanted the same coffeemaker because it makes the better coffee, so that someone broke mine to make me buy at least a dozen more of it. I mean I am kind of that frustrated that I might buy more coffee makers and put them in other departments, so there isn’t another terrible coffee-crisis the next time my coffee maker is broken. If you think about it, it really makes sense… but then why would you think about this because this is clearly some weird scenario probably only I consider and you are not interested in hearing how I babble on about it which is why I will shut up in three, two, one.”

Oliver chuckled as quietly as possible. He had never heard anyone talking as quickly and as much as Felicity did. He didn’t mind, though. There was something about her long rambles that really amused him. He could almost see her biting down on her bottom lip and sucking in a deep breath now to get herself back under control.

“What can I do for you, Felicity?” Oliver asked with a smile.

She sighed. “I just wanted to call to confirm the appointment for Saturday if you still have time.”

“Of course. The evening is reserved for you.”

“Okay, good.”

Oliver nodded slowly, thinking about what else to say. “How is our fern by the way?”

“ _My_ fern is perfectly fine, thank you very much,” Felicity replied.

He chuckled. “Good, I just wanted to make sure.”

Silence settled for a short moment. He could hear Felicity take even breaths, and he puckered his lips, trying to find anything else he could say to her.

“I… uhm…” Felicity said before he could come up with anything. “I should hang up.”

“So you can obsess over the presentation?”

Felicity chuckled. “Yes, maybe.”

“Well, I do not want to bother you,” Oliver replied. “See you on Saturday?”

“Yes. Bye, Oliver.”

“Bye, Felicity.”

He hung up and pushed his phone back into the pocket of his jeans. He was still smiling when he looked back at Tommy. The smile was quickly replaced with a frown when he noticed the expression on Tommy’s face.

“What?” Oliver asked immediately.

“Well, before you got that phone call, I was going to ask you if your ‘Guys like us don’t get the girl’ had some deeper meaning, but I guess I can answer that question myself now.”

Oliver’s frown deepened. “What?”

“The moment you got on the phone you started smiling like a Cheshire Cat.”

“I was just being friendly,” Oliver replied firmly.

Tommy cocked his head. “Friendly? Oh, no. A friendly smile looks different. I guess I am not the only one with a new woman in my life then. Congratulations, man. And Felicity, that’s a really nice name.”

“She’s a really nice person,” Oliver replied with a chuckle, “but she’s just a friend.”

Tommy was about to answer teasingly when he suddenly frowned instead. “Wait. Felicity? Please don’t tell me we are talking about Smoak Technologies’ CEO Felicity. You know, your first regular client Felicity?”

Oliver grabbed his empty coffee mug, playing around with it. He avoided his friend’s eyes when he said, “Like I said she is just a friend.”

“Oliver.”

At the warning tone in Tommy’s voice Oliver looked up.

“I might have… I thought she was like everyone else, but she isn’t,” Oliver explained casually, shrugging his shoulders. “I need to proceed a little differently with her. She doesn’t want me to be her paid friend. She wants to be real friends or keep it strictly professional. Since I don’t want to talk about my family, though, we can’t be friends.”

Tommy narrowed his eyes at him. “So you considered it?”

“No,” Oliver replied a beat too quickly for Tommy to buy it.

“Look, trying to seriously date someone probably isn’t a smart idea,” Tommy admitted quietly, “but whatever you think you are doing is right out crazy.”

“She’s just a client,” Oliver explained. “She’s my first regular client, so I might put a little more effort into making sure she gets everything she wants, but it’s all professional.”

“A minute ago you said she was a friend.”

“Well, a friend like a client is our friend,” Oliver replied, feeling more and more like he needed to defend himself. “I thought we were talking about you.”

“Not anymore,” Tommy simply replied, shaking his head and looking at his friend urgently.

Oliver bit down on his tongue. He hadn’t done anything wrong. He had been with Felicity like he was with every client. Admittedly, he might have enjoyed teasing her a little bit more than he usually did with his clients, but that was just because Felicity was a really nice person to spend time with. Now that he knew that for her his teases had already crossed a line he was going to take a step back to make her feel more comfortable, because he was professional like that.

Sure, it would be nice to be friends with her. She was an interesting person, one that didn’t make him feel like the service he offered made him any less human. She didn’t treat him like a servant or a toy and that was great. He liked spending time with her because somehow she managed to make him smile and take him by surprise and-

“Oliver, don’t get yourself into trouble,” Tommy warned.

“I’m not planning to get myself into trouble.”

“Maybe,” Tommy replied, “but the look on your face tells me that you don’t need to plan it for it to happen nonetheless.”

“Don’t worry,” Oliver said firmly. “I’ve got everything under control.”

Tommy shot him a look, one that he didn’t miss to make Oliver know that his friend doubted his words. Oliver just crossed his arms in front of his chest and watched his friend taking his jacket from the back of their chair and putting it on.

“All I am saying is that you should be careful not to cross any limits, neither yours nor hers. Isabel is going to fire you in an instant if you screw up like that.”

“Like I said before,” Oliver replied, his voice sounding tense, “there is no chance for Felicity and me to be friends anyway. Maybe if the situation with my family was different and-“

He stopped when he saw Tommy’s gaze. Oliver cleared his throat, putting on a tense smile.

“Don’t worry. I know how much I need this job. I am not going to screw it up.”

Tommy nodded though he didn’t seem completely convinced. “Are you going to pay for the coffee?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. Thanks. See you.”

“See you,” Oliver mumbled.

He watched his friend leave and shook his head with a low sigh. His conversation with Felicity had haunted him almost all week. Despite the fact that he had soon decided that they really couldn’t be friends he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Felicity. Part of him really wanted to be friends with her, so he could get to know her better. He knew it was crazy, but Felicity was just intriguing. He enjoyed spending time with her and it had nothing to do with the fact that she was his only regular client in Starling so far.

If only there was a way of agreeing on a compromise. He wanted to be friends, but opening up to her about everything that had happened to him was not something he was up for right now. Maybe if he knew her better, but right now…

He understood Tommy’s warnings. Crossing boundaries was a dangerous thing to do in their job. Oliver knew that. He also knew that he couldn’t risk this job. He needed it.

Oliver tapped his fingertips on the tabletop. He didn’t feel like he was risking anything, though. He had told Felicity his real name, and except for the few times she mentioned what she knew about his family he didn’t feel like he had taken much of a risk with that. She could be trusted. He felt like he would gain something if he could become friends with Felicity.

“Can I get you anything more?” the waitress asked, approaching him.

“Yes,” Oliver replied with a smile. “Two coffees to go please.”

He could at least try to find a compromise that didn’t cross either of their boundaries, right?

 

 

Felicity tapped the end of her pen on the tabletop again and again. The drumming sound made her only more nervous, but she couldn’t stop. She needed to move and do something. Right now using her pen as a drumming stick was the only thing she could think of, though.

She had no idea when she had turned into this jitterbug. Well, it had probably been around the time she had come to Star City because since that time a lot had changed. The task of leading a company like this wasn’t exactly easy, especially since Smoak Technologies was part of a male-dominated area, and the threats she had been faced with a few months ago hadn’t exactly made it any easier either. In her first months here, after she had received the first threats to her life, she had been panicking all the time. She had barely been able to leave the house without feeling like she was being followed. That was why she had hired John, and he had been able to ground her. She was finally feeling safe again.

Letting the pen fall to the table, she took in a deep breath. She grabbed the cards she had prepared for the presentation to practice once more. It didn’t matter that she memorized every single word on them already. As long as she had time to make even more preparations for her presentation, she would do so because she was too nervous to just lie back and relax until her partners would come here.

She took in another deep breath, about to start her presentation, when there was a quiet knock at the door. She looked up to find her young assistant Gerry looking at her. Why did he always look like a kicked puppy, she wondered. She had always been kind of him, or at least she hoped so. He really had no reason to be nervous around her. She was probably one of the nicer bosses.

“Ms. Smoak, you’ve got a visitor.”

“Did I miss an appointment?” Felicity asked, already putting the cards away to reach for her schedule.

“No, Mr. King came here without an appointment.”

Felicity perked up her eyebrows in surprise. “Mr. King?”

“Yes, he-“

“I was nearby, drinking coffee with a friend, when you called,” Oliver explained, stepping into her office, before Gerry could explain anything more. “I thought I could stop by and bring you some coffee since your coffee maker was broken.”

Felicity looked at Oliver closely. He wasn’t wearing his tux with the suspenders and the bowtie like he had done all the previous times they had met. Felicity didn’t miss to notice that even in jeans, henley and a dark brown leather jacket he looked incredibly hot. Apparently he belonged to the people who could wear a casual look as well as an elegant one. Well, it was only one more proof that the world wasn’t fair.

Her eyes focused on the two paper mugs in Oliver’s hand, and she perked up an eyebrow interestedly. From time to time she had wondered about how he would decide given her ultimatum. She hadn’t given him any chance to say anything after she had told him that being one-sided friends like he had offered didn’t work for her. She didn’t want to be vulnerable like that. He needed to give her something back, but she had honestly doubted that he would agree to it. He had been so reserved about telling her anything that she hadn’t thought he would change his mind. Maybe she had been wrong, though.

“That’s very nice of you,” Felicity said with a smile. “Come in. Gerry, you can take an extended lunch break if you like to. There isn’t much to do right now anyway, and the day is going to be long.”

“Thank you, Ms. Smoak,” Gerry replied.

When her assistant left her office, Oliver stepped closer. He held out one of the mugs for her before sitting down on the chair on the opposite side of Felicity. She took a sip of her coffee, eyeing Oliver up over the paper mug. He held her gaze, not looking away, and it made Felicity smile for the split of a second.

“I am actually glad that you are here,” she said, “because I think that will help to clear the air after how we parted ways last weekend. We could have done the same on our way to the party next weekend, but-“

“Yeah, I felt the same way,” Oliver interrupted her with a warm smile. “It would have been weird then, so I figured visiting you before our next appointment would be a good idea.”

Felicity nodded, biting down on her bottom lip. When Oliver didn’t continue, she asked, “Did you make your decision?”

Oliver pressed his lips together, scrunching up his nose. “Kind of.”

Felicity perked up an eyebrow, leaning back in her chair. “Kind of?”

How could you _kind of_ make a decision? You either made it or you didn’t.

“I know what I want, but I think I need to set conditions for that to work,” Oliver explained. He cleared his throat before he added, “If that is okay with you.”

Felicity stopped moving the chair from right to left and back again, sliding closer to the desk instead. She straightened up, resting her forearms on the cold table top.

“I should warn you that I am really good at negotiating the conditions of a contract,” Felicity told him. “You know, badass CEO and all.”

“I will keep that in mind,” Oliver replied with a chuckle. He then cleared his throat and got serious again. “I would like for us to try being friends.”

The coffee could have hinted her on that. Yet Felicity was surprised to actually hear the words from Oliver. Well, she enjoyed spending time with Oliver, so being friends wouldn’t hurt and might actually take away from the awkwardness of hiring him. It had become less awkward already, but she wouldn’t mind if it got a little less awkward. Becoming friends and setting up boundaries for that wouldn’t hurt.

“I don’t want to talk about my family, though. My family is a sore spot for me, especially given this,” Oliver added, looking around in her office.

Only now Felicity realized that it probably wasn’t his first time in this building. When the company had been in the hands of his family, he had probably visited his father here. It must be weird for him to be back now because Felicity knew the building had been put through several alterations.

Felicity nodded. “I absolutely understand that. Everyone has stuff they don’t want to talk about. I don’t want to talk about my family either.”

“So we can agree on that?”

“Sure,” Felicity replied with a smile. “We can move on to the next point.”

Oliver frowned. “The next point?”

“Well, your next condition for our friendship.”

“Actually not talking about my family was it,” he replied. “That’s my only condition.”

“Oh,” Felicity said. “Well, that was easy then.”

Admittedly, his condition for their possible friendship came quite handy. She didn’t really want to talk about her family either. The more she could avoid that conversation, the better.

“Do you want me draw up an official contract?” she asked.

Oliver perked up an eyebrow. “That would be a little over the top, wouldn’t it?”

Felicity shrugged her shoulders, chuckling. “Hey, I have no idea what the standard procedure for something like this is.”

“Admittedly, neither do I,” Oliver replied with a chuckle of his own. “I think we should try to see our friendship a little less like a business and a little more casually, though.”

“Okay,” Felicity replied, nodding her head. She smiled at Oliver for a long moment before she asked, “How exactly do you think we should do that?”

Oliver laughed, shrugging his shoulders. “I don’t know. I think we will just do the same things we did so far and see where that leads us. We will just need time to get used to it.”

“That makes sense,” Felicity said with a sigh.

She leaned back in her chair, taking a sip of her coffee. They kind of had been friends before, so he was probably right. They just needed to continue with what they had done so far already. The only difference would be that their conversations wouldn’t end in an awkward moment whenever they hit a wrong subject. That couldn’t be too hard, right?

Sighing, Felicity closed her eye and moved her head from one shoulder to the other, stretching her neck. She had been working almost nonstop these past few days to make sure everything was ready and perfect for the presentation. That had left her with a tight neck and back. When she suddenly felt a different hand pushing hers away, Felicity looked back over her shoulder.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“I am seeing that my friend has a stiff neck, so I am helping her with a massage,” Oliver replied, putting his hands to her shoulders.

“You don’t have to do that,” Felicity said, but she already leaned back with a sigh and closed her eyes when Oliver’s thumbs gently pressed into the tight skin between her shoulders.

“That is the thing about friends, right?” Oliver asked. “They don’t have to do stuff, but they do it nonetheless.”

Felicity smiled, keeping her eyes closed. “That sounds right.”

Oliver stroked his thumbs from between her shoulder blades higher to the top of her shoulders. He repeated the same motion over and over again, always applying a little more pressure. His hands were big and strong, yet so gentle. That way he was able to reach just the right spots and apply just enough pressure made Felicity sigh contently. She just leaned back and enjoyed the touch. Only when he reached a particularly tense sport, Felicity pressed her lips together, releasing a low moan.

“You’re really good at that,” she told him.

“I am,” Oliver replied with a chuckle.

Felicity blinked through an eye, looking at him. “Don’t be so cocksure, Mister.”

Oliver chuckled. “Cocksure, me? Never.”

Felicity rolled her eyes, and her gaze fell on the cards she had prepared for the presentation. She felt her shoulders tensing immediately, her nervousness returning. Oliver must have sensed it because his thumbs dug a little deeper into her skin, but it failed to release any of the tension from her body.

“You’re really nervous about this, hm?”

“Yes,” Felicity replied with a sigh.

“But you’re prepared.”

“I am.”

“So there is actually no reason to worry?”

“Hey, you know my brain,” Felicity responded. “It comes up with the weirdest scenarios of what could possibly go wrong.”

“And in how many of those scenarios things go wrong because you aren’t prepared?”

Felicity shrugged her shoulders. “A lot.”

Oliver hummed, still continuing to massage her shoulders. Felicity could hear in the way he was humming that he was thinking, though. She opened an eye, blinking at him. He had his lips puckered, looking at her with a slight frown on his forehead like he was considering doing something he wasn’t sure of yet.

“What?” Felicity asked.

“Well, I think we both know a way to relax you more effectively.”

Felicity perked up her eyebrows. For a split second she wondered if they were thinking about the same thing, but one look in Oliver’s eyes was enough for her to know that they did. She turned around in the chair, Oliver’s hands falling off her shoulders.

“You are not working right now,” Felicity stated.

Oliver shrugged his shoulders. “So? You are here. I am here. We have done it before.”

Felicity frowned. “But don’t you have any compulsory periods of rests?”

He crossed his arms in front of his chest, pressing his lips together. Felicity bit her tongue.

“Didn’t we establish already that the working conditions aren’t much controlled?”

“I think we established that the job training isn’t really structured and controlled,” Felicity replied, “but we never talked about the working conditions.”

Oliver chuckled. “Fine. Felicity, an escort’s working conditions aren’t really controlled by law or anything.”

“So no compulsory periods of rest?”

“None that I know of,” Oliver replied.

Felicity puckered her lips, glancing at the door to the small bathroom. She had everything she needed here. Given how much time she always spent working, she always had every possible cosmetic article she would need to refresh herself here. She even had two sets of underwear and three dresses here. She just loved being prepared in case she spilled some coffee on herself or whatever. She could have sex with Oliver and still look perfectly appropriate for her meeting. Having sex now would probably help with her nervousness too because like Oliver had said, it never failed to relax her.

She bit down on her bottom lip. Sex in her office or even in the attached bathroom was not something she had ever thought she would even consider. During her first internship she had barged into a hot and heavy scene between her superior and his boss’ wife. It had been an awkward moment that she had only made worse by babbling instead of discreetly turning around and leaving. Suffice to say that she had sworn herself to never put any of her employees into a situation like that. She had sent Gerry off for his lunch break, so it was only her and Oliver on this floor now, but…

“I don’t know,” Felicity replied.

Oliver grinned. He put his hands to the armrests of Felicity’s chair and leaned down, bringing his face on level with hers. His blues eye seemed to find a way right under her skin. Felicity pressed her lips together, just watching him with held breath.

“Maybe I can help convince you,” Oliver said with quiet, husky voice.

He leaned forward slowly and for a short moment Felicity thought he was going to kiss her lips, but he angled his face right before their lips could touch. Instead his lips moved over her cheek to her ear. He kissed the spot right under her earlobe before he moved his lips down the side of her neck. He pressed them down when he reached the middle of her neck. His mouth opened slightly, the tip of his tongue exploring her skin.

Felicity sighed. Oliver was really convincing.

“I take that as your agreement?”

“Huh?” Felicity asked back, frowning.

Oliver chuckled against her skin. He pressed one last kiss to her neck before he pulled back again, keeping his hands at the armrests of her chair.

“You said I was really convincing.”

“Oh,” Felicity said.

She felt heat forming in her cheeks and spreading down over her neck and cleavage down under the neckline of her dress. The heat was almost burning on her skin, so it took her a moment to realize that Oliver moved the tip of his forefinger over her skin softly, tracing the path the blush took. Felicity watched his finger moving from her chin down her throat and to her cleavage, following the neckline of her dress.

“Felicity.”

At the sound of her name coming from his lips Felicity looked at him. His eyes were darkened slightly, an almost hungry expression in them. The tip of his tongue moved out, wetting his lips. Felicity watched the movement intensely before looking back into his eyes.

“Do you want me to relax you?” he asked.

Felicity didn’t even hesitate. She just nodded, replying with a “Yes, please” that was only barely louder than a breath. Oliver grinned smugly, lowering his face to the side of her neck once more. He kissed the spot he had kissed before, but it only lasted shortly. Soon he pulled back again.

“Come on,” he said.

Oliver quickly grabbed one of her hands and pulled her with him to the bathroom. Felicity shot a nervous glance to Gerry’s desk like she expected her assistant to be back too early, but of course he wasn’t there. They really were alone on the floor, nobody here and nobody expected to come anytime soon.

Biting down on her bottom lip, Felicity let Oliver tug her into the bathroom. Within a short moment he closed the door behind the two of them, caging Felicity in between his chest and the door, his arms to both sides of her body. He bent his arms, leaning closer to her. His chest rubbed against her breasts slightly. His breath ghosted over her lower part of her face and the top of her chest. The feeling elicited goosebumps on her skin.

“What do you want, Felicity?” he asked.

Felicity gulped. Oliver was so incredibly close. She could smell the scent of his deodorant or perfume or whatever it was, but also the scent that was all him. The tip of his nose bumped against hers lightly whenever he took in a breath. Her gaze focused on his lips for only a short moment before she looked back into his eyes again.

“Lock the door.”

Oliver didn’t even turn his eyes. He reached out a hand, locking the door easily. His eyes stayed locked on hers the entire time.

“What do you want?” he asked again.

“I want you,” Felicity whispered, her voice low. “I want you inside of me, and I want you to take me against the door.”

As soon as the last syllable had fallen from her lips, Felicity bit down on her bottom lip. She watched Oliver almost nervously, waiting for him to react. Slowly Oliver’s right hand reached out for her. He swiped his thumb over her bottom lip, freeing it from her front teeth. She was still expecting Oliver to say something, but he kept quiet.

Instead of answering to her suggestion he moved his hands closer to her body until they made contact with her ribcage. The warmth of his palms reached through the thin fabric of her dress He then let his hands slowly travel down her body. They moved from her ribs down to her waist and lower to her hips. He leaned forward a little, pressing his body against hers for only a short moment, his lips brushing against the lobe of her ear in the meantime. When he leaned back again, his hands continued the path down her body over the outside of her thighs to her knees. His hands moved behind her knees, holding them tightly. As soon as he started lifting her from the floor, pushing her higher against the door, Felicity held onto his shoulders for leverage. Oliver brought her thighs to the height of his hips, pressing her thighs against the sides of his body. Her skirt rode up her thighs, the fabric pooling around her waist.

“I take that as your consent,” Felicity whispered.

Oliver licked his lips, grinning at her smugly. He leaned forward slightly, his body pressing her back against the door more firmly, while his hips were rubbing against hers lazily. She was unable to move. All she could do was enjoying how she could feel all the details of his body. She could feel his abs against her stomach. She could feel his chest pressing more firmly against hers whenever he took in a breath. His broad shoulders felt strong under her palms, the thick leather of his jacket not hiding the muscles from her.

They continued to do so for some time. Their eyes stayed locked, their breathings both shortening. Oliver kept rubbing against her. She could feel Oliver hardening in his pants more with every thrust against her. The zipper of his pants pressed against her core and allowed for a delicious friction. There wasn’t much movement between them, and there barely a sound but the rustling of their clothes. Yet it was so sexy and turning Felicity on beyond belief. There was just something in the way they shared this quiet with their eyes locked that was so hot.

Once more in the last weeks she found her gaze lowering to his lips. She still wondered what they would feel like against hers. She even wondered what they would taste like. If they tasted as good as his skin smelled than she knew already that kissing him would be-

She snapped out of her thoughts when Oliver’s lips slowly came closer. He must have mistaken her gaze on his lips for something else than a moment of being lost in reverie because his lips were directly aiming for hers. Felicity turned her head away, Oliver’s lips landing on the corner of her mouth. He kissed her chastely before his lips moved over her cheek to her jaw.

Sighing quietly, Felicity leaned her head back a little, making her neck longer. Oliver didn’t waste much time. His lips took a path downward, licking and nibbling the tender skin of her neck. His hips kept rocking against hers, and Felicity felt herself getting wetter with each time he pressed against her more firmly.

When Oliver pushed the neckline of her dress down a little, just enough to reveal her collarbone, Felicity moved her hands into his hair and caressed the back of his head. It was her way of wordlessly telling him that she was absolutely agreeing to what he was doing. She licked her lips in anticipation, almost sure he was about to lower the neckline a little more, so he could play with her breasts. Instead his mouth closed around her collarbone. His teeth grazed the skin shortly before they bit down in time for a particularly hard thrust.

Felicity moaned. Her back arched away from the door, her hips pressing more into Oliver’s. Oliver did the same again, and Felicity felt heat coiling low in her stomach. Something about the pain he was making her feel mixed perfectly with the delicious friction between her legs.

“God,” she moaned out when Oliver bit down on her collar bone a third time, even a little bit harder than before. She felt her core aching to have him fill her, so she demanded with raspy voice, “Unbutton your pants.”

Oliver didn’t listen, though. His lips moved from her right collarbone to the left. He only kissed it chastely, though. Then his fingers tugged down the neckline of her dress a little more until her nipple was revealed to him. He moved his lips down to her nipples, his teeth grazing her sensitive skin from time to time, but Felicity had other plans.

The slight roughness of Oliver’s actions made her want to be a little rougher too. She formed a fist around some of the short hair and the back of his neck and tugged firmly. Oliver’s head fell into his neck, his eyes finding hers immediately. They were darkened, and she saw that same hunger in them that she had seen several times by now. When she just looked at him, he licked his lips with relish. It shot a jolt of pleasure right through her core.

“Unbutton your pants,” Felicity said slowly and quietly but with a force in her voice that she was almost surprised of herself.

She had never been especially bossy, at least not in bed. Well, actually they weren’t in bed, so maybe that explained that, but then she hadn’t been much bossier at any other place where she had sex. It felt good, though. Demanding what she wanted like this felt good, and if the glint in Oliver’s eyes was any indication he didn’t mind it either.

Oliver pushed her up the door slightly, pressing his chest against her to secure her between his body and the door. Slowly his hands moved from the back of her knees up her thighs, and Felicity locked her ankles against his butt to press herself closer to him. Oliver’s large hands squeezed her butt, eliciting a low moan from her. Oliver grinned at her smugly before he pulled his hands off her body.

At the sound of the zipper being lowered Felicity licked her lips. The anticipation of feeling him inside of her again, of having him fill her and stretch her once more was making her entire body prickle. She felt an aching need in her core, and her fingers dug deep into the leather of his jacket to keep herself from impatiently rubbing against his lower stomach.

When his jeans fell to the floor, Oliver looked up at her expectantly. “And now?”

“Condom.”

Oliver gave her a single nod of his head. His eyes darkened even more what she hadn’t thought was even possible until then. Oliver fished in the pocket of his leather jacket. When he pulled his hand out of the pocket, he held out a foil package, looking at her almost challengingly.

Felicity bit down on her tongue for a short moment. “Do you always have one with you even when you’re not working?”

“I told you that I like sex,” Oliver replied. He leaned forward a little more, his breath ghosting over the top of her chest and eliciting goosebumps there. He brushed his lips against her jaw before his grazed her earlobe with his teeth, tugging gently. “And maybe I might have stopped on my way here to make sure I was prepared because you sounded stressed on the phone.”

Felicity gulped. She tried not to think too much about his words. They could mean a lot, but his words were already forming thoughts that were running wild in her mind.

“Is that how you treat friends or regular clients?” Felicity asked, unable to bite back that question.

Oliver leaned back slightly, looking at her. Then he just shrugged his shoulders. It wasn’t a satisfying answer, but all of her thoughts on that were forgotten when Oliver bit down on one edge of the foil package and ripped it open. He took out the latex, discarding the ripped foil package on the floor. His hands then disappeared under her legs as he was rolling the condom onto him.

“And now?” Oliver asked.

“Inside of me.”

Oliver’s fingers moved to her core. He stroked her folds through the lacy panties, making Felicity moan out and instinctively move against his fingers, trying to get more friction. His fingers then moved under the fabrics, stroking her wet folds. Felicity sucked in a breath, squeezing her eyes shut. Her nails dug into his shoulders through the leather jacket.

“Do you want me to just push them aside?” Oliver asked.

He kissed her shoulder chastely before he leaned his chin against it. He rubbed his stubble against her soft skin. Felicity released a deep sigh.

“Yes.”

Oliver’s lips pressed to the juncture of her neck and shoulder. He then slowly let her slide down the door a little bit until she was on the right height. He took hold of his cock and moved the tip of his cock through her wetness torturously slowly. He started at her entrance and moved to her clit. Felicity’s hips bucked against him, seeking more friction, but Oliver already moved his cock away.

She groaned in frustration, needing more. It turned into a moan once she felt his cock back at her entrance. The tip of his erection entered her before sliding back out. He then moved his cock back to her clit slowly. Felicity could feel her stomach tightening, her pleasure increasing. At the same time she felt a maddening feeling at this torturous teasing. She groaned once more, but it didn’t keep Oliver from doing the same once more.

Felicity was writhing against him, unsure if she wanted to get closer or get away. Okay, she probably wanted to get closer, but everything would be better than this. She needed to be released from this torture, either by getting what she wanted or not getting anything at all.

Only when Felicity felt the stretch of his lips against her skin, telling her that he was grinning, she understood what he was doing. She loosened one hand from his shoulder and slid it into his hair. She pulled his head back, so their eyes could lock.

“Inside of me,” she told him firmly. “Now.”

And just like that Oliver thrust into her. He filled her with one hard thrust, pressing her more tightly against the door. Felicity gasped for breath, her legs tightening around his hips to pull him even closer. His pelvis rubbed against her clit deliciously.

“Just like that,” Felicity whispered.

“Hard?” Oliver asked, accentuating the word thrusting into her hard once more.

Felicity nodded, her eyes still locked on his. She loved the expression in his eyes. The way he looked at her was turning her insides up and down, making her skin prickle and the heat in her stomach growing even hotter. She had never been looked at like that, and right now it didn’t even matter that she was paying Oliver to look at her like that. She just needed to know that someone could look at her like that, and he could. The reasons didn’t matter.

Oliver stayed unmoving a moment longer. Then his hips slapped against hers. Felicity’s head fell back against the door, and Oliver’s lips attacked the side of her neck once more. He set a quick, hard rhythm. His hands moved under her butt, squeezing her flesh. His body moved against hers, pushing her into the door. She could feel each of his hard muscles even through the fabric of their clothes, and it just added to the sexy feeling of being surrounded by his warmth and his scent.

He angled her hips in his hands every now and then, allowing him to slide in deeper or just from a different angle. Felicity’s legs slide further down, her ankles still locked, but now high on the backside of his thighs instead of right over his butt. When she found that it was only helping to keep Oliver more against her, she didn’t try to lift her legs back around his waist. Oliver’s movements soon got even quicker, and Felicity moaned out in pleasure. Her hands tightened around his shoulders automatically, holding onto him more firmly. He felt so good against her and inside of her.

When a particularly hard thrust made her release a low cry, her back arched away from the door, pressing her body more against him. She opened her eyes, watching Oliver’s body move. She could look over his shoulder which allowed her to have a great view of his butt. He had a nice butt, she thought, and before she really knew it her hands were already moving down. She cupped his butt, squeezing the firm flesh there.

Oliver growled. The deep grumble made his chest vibrate against hers, and Felicity moaned at the way it made her feel. She loved when he made that sound. It was the only real sound he made when they had sex, and she enjoyed it so much. It turned her on like it had a direct connection to her core, so Felicity squeezed his butt once more, and once again Oliver growled, his hips slapping into hers harshly.

“God,” Felicity moaned.

“I am,” Oliver replied against her skin with raspy voice.

Felicity chuckled as much as her pleasure allowed her to actually laugh instead of releasing a strangled choke that turned into a loud moan.

“Don’t be so smug there, Mister.”

Oliver lowered his lips to the top of her breasts, sucking slightly. Felicity’s hands moved higher on his body. Her fingertips slipped under his henley, expecting to find soft skin covering hard muscles. The more surprised she was when her fingers didn’t stroke over soft but rather rough skin. Her fingers moved over the skin making out the edges of what she believed had to be thick scar tissue. She was so distracted by the large part of his lower back that was covered with the rough skin, it took her several seconds to realize that Oliver had stopped moving, his whole body stiffened. His open lips rested against her chest, his breathing ghosting over the top of her breasts.

“Motorcycle accident,” Oliver whispered though she hadn’t asked. “Bad?”

Felicity shook her head, whispering, “No, of course not.”

Part of her wanted to keep exploring the scar tissue, maybe even find out if there was more, but she could feel that he wasn’t comfortable. Though she had a thousand questions – from when and how that had happened up to if a client ever had had problems with that – she knew now was not the time for any of them. She slowly moved her hands away from under his henley and back to his butt, squeezing once more.

She didn’t exactly get the low grumble deep in his chest, but at least Oliver relaxed against her slightly. After some shallow thrusts, he soon resumed to his quick, hard rhythm. Luckily, the little interruption hadn’t destroyed the mood. Oliver quickly worked her back up. His thrusts pushed her against the door, creating a bumping sound whenever he thrust into her. His pelvis rubbed against her clit, fueling the fire she felt low in her stomach.

Oliver’s fingers dug into her butt, his fingernails scratching her sensitive skin deliciously. He lifted his head from her chest right after rubbing his stubbled cheek against the top of her breasts once more. Their eyes locked, and Felicity felt her breath getting caught in her throat at the way Oliver looked at her. She could see that he was close, and with a nod of her head she wordlessly told him that she was close too.

When Oliver’s next thrust made the tip of her toes start to prickle and her walls fluttering around his length slightly, Felicity pressed her lips together to muffle her moans. All it took were three more hard thrusts for her to fall over the edge, the pleasure exploding in her body and spreading through her veins and reaching into every part of her body. She forced her eyes to keep locked on Oliver’s watching him seeking his own release by pushing into her more quickly and harder. Her hands dug into his butt, squeezing. With the grumble she enjoyed so much he came, his cock jerking inside of her, while her walls were still massaging him.

He kept pushing into her lazily, prolonging both of their orgasms. It wasn’t long until Felicity’s body turned into putty in his arms. She felt all tension fading from her body. Her head came to rest on his shoulder while her hands stroked over his butt.

Oliver chuckled. “Are you enjoying the touch?”

Felicity smiled against his shoulder. “Kind of. You have a nice butt.”

“Thank you very much,” Oliver replied, squeezing her butt. “I can give the same right back to you.”

Felicity chuckled before she moved her hands off his butt with a sigh. She then put her hands to his shoulders and straightened back up. When she looked at him, she saw him smiling that much that dimples showed on his face. Smiling, she moved her thumbs to the dimples.

“Should I set you back on the floor or-“

“Oh, you could set me down on the counter,” Felicity told him. “I am not sure my legs will carry me.”

“Relaxed?” Oliver asked.

Felicity smiled. “Very.”

“Good,” Oliver replied.

He kissed the underside of her jaw before he carried her over to the counter. He set her down on the cold marble and kissed her collarbone before he slipped out of her. Felicity took in a deep breath, still being sensitive down there.

“There are towels in the cabinet,” Felicity explained.

Oliver took the condom off and trashed it. He then pulled his pants up a little, so the entire fabric didn’t pool around his ankles. He went to the cabinet, pulled out two towels and got back to her, handing her one of them.

Felicity wiped the sweat and her juices away from the inside of her thighs a little. She didn’t put much effort into it, knowing that she would take a shower once her legs would regain some strength anyway. Instead she watched Oliver drying himself before he tugged his pants back up again. He buttoned and zipped it before-

“Something wrong?” he asked.

“Hm?” Felicity asked, looking up to find him looking at her with cocked head. She blushed, pressing her lips together shortly before she cleared her throat. “Nope. I am fine. Everything is fine.”

“You’re sure?” Oliver asked, his smug grin widening.

Felicity pushed her tongue against the inside of her cheek, avoiding his gaze for a moment. When she looked back at him, he was still grinning at her like that. She just rolled her eyes, and Oliver chuckled, crossing his arms in front of his chest. Felicity leaned back, resting her head against the cold mirror.

“Do you think you will get through the day without freaking out?”

“Mhm,” Felicity hummed. “I’m relaxed.”

Oliver chuckled. “Do you need anything more?”

Felicity shook her head. “I’m fine.”

“So… see you Saturday?” he asked.

Felicity nodded. “See you Saturday.”

“I’m gonna come home to you.”

“You will,” Felicity agreed, nodding her head once more.

Oliver chuckled. “Okay. See you Saturday then.”

“See you Saturday then,” Felicity replied.

Oliver kept looking at her for a moment longer without saying a word. He then nodded his head and turned around to the door. He quickly unlocked it and shot a glance outside to make sure it was safe. Instead of leaving, he turned back around to her once more.

“I’d say good luck with your presentation, but I am sure you will do great.”

Felicity smiled. “Thanks… also for relaxing me outside your usual working hours.”

“You’re welcome, _friend_ ,” he replied.

He winked at her, and Felicity smiled back at him appreciatively. He then nodded his head and without another word turned around and left, closing the door behind him. Felicity smiled at the closed door for a moment longer. Sighing, she closed her eyes for a moment, enjoying the way she felt all relaxed now.

This felt like the beginning of a good, even if probably rather complicated, friendship.


	5. Chapter 5

It wasn’t until a quiet knock at the door woke her that Felicity realized she must have fallen asleep on the couch. She had been lying down to get some rest after the last coughing attack had left her gasping for breath while tears had been streaming down her cheeks. The cold she had caught and tried to just ignore these last days seemed to want to make sure that she couldn’t ignore it any longer. It had gotten worse these last two days and had robbed her of more energy than she had thought. She was tired and exhausted. Her chest hurt from all the coughing. Felicity couldn’t remember the last time she felt this crappy.

Sighing quietly, Felicity turned around onto her other side and closed her eyes again. She was too tired to move over to the bed, so she would just lie here a little longer and catch some more sleep. She could still move over to the bed when she felt a little bit less like her bones were made of jelly. She tugged the blanket higher until it covered her from the tip of her toes to right under her chin, her entire body being embraced by the warmth.

She was almost asleep again when another knock at the door reminded her why she had woken up in the first place. Felicity sighed lowly, pressing her face into the pillow. She really didn’t want to get up. Whoever was at her door should just go and leave her alone.

Instead there was another knock at the door followed by her name. “Felicity?”

Felicity sat up a little bit too quickly. Her surroundings started spinning. Heat rose into her head, but it wasn’t the usual heat she felt when she was blushing. Her head felt like it was going to explode. She tried to suck in a deep breath to get the spinning under control, but it only caused another coughing attack to shake her body, making her abdomen hurt badly. It was sore from all the coughing of the last days already.

“Felicity?!” the worried voice caught up to her once the worst of the coughing attack was over. The knock at the door had turned into a loud pounding. “Felicity, open up!”

Wrapping the blanket around her tightly to keep the chilly air away from her, Felicity tumbled to the door. Her heartbeat was quick, her breathing uneven. She leaned against the wall right next to the door, being too exhausted after these few steps to carry all her weight herself. She was just about to unlock the door chain when there was another loud pounding at the door. Felicity groaned, feeling like her head was ripped off her shoulders.

“I am already opening. Relax,” she hissed with hoarse voice. She quickly pushed the door chain away, unlocked the door and opened. She was ready to snap at the inconvenient guest that he should leave her the hell alone when she realized who it was. “What are you doing here?”

“Well, we had an appointment, didn’t we?”

Felicity looked Oliver up and down, realizing that he was indeed dressed formally in tux and bowtie like he was prepared to go out with her. For the break of a second she wondered why she hadn’t been able to make out his voice when he had called out her name already, but she figured that her cold was just messing with her brain. She frowned when she realized that apparently she believed that she had to be able to recognize Oliver’s voice, but she pushed that thought away. Her head was aching as it was already. She didn’t need to make it worse by over thinking her weird thoughts.

“Didn’t the agency call you?” Felicity asked, wrapping the blanket around her a little bit tighter. Oliver perked up an eyebrow in question, and she explained, “I called them yesterday to cancel the appointment. They told me they’d call you.”

“They must have forgotten then,” Oliver replied, shrugging his shoulders.

“Well, sorry then,” Felicity said, trying to give him a smile, but she was sure that the exhaustion wasn’t exactly making the smile look very honest. “I guess you could have spent that evening differently when-“

She stopped when she felt a tickling in her nose. She sneezed three times in a row before her head came to rest against the wall with an exhausted sigh.

“You should go,” Felicity stated, closing her eyes with another sigh. “I am sure getting sick won’t help you to establish a regular client base, especially because being sick really isn’t sexy at all.”

“Felicity,” Oliver said, and she opened her eyes to look at him. He had a frown on his forehead and was eyeing up her face closely. “You look like crap.”

Felicity pushed her bottom lip forward, giving him a half-hearted pout. “That’s not a nice thing of you to say. If you want a regular client base, you need to be charming and nice to your clients. You can’t tell them they look like crap.”

Oliver chuckled. “It’s just the truth. You are beautiful, but you look like crap today.”

“Like I said, being sick really isn’t sexy,” Felicity replied with a tired sigh. “God, I need to lie back down and catch a little more sleep. Sorry for the misunderstanding. I am sure you would have made plans if you had known that you had the evening off.”

“It’s not that bad,” Oliver assured her.

“Still sorry,” Felicity replied. She smiled at him for a moment, waiting for him to tell her goodbye and leave, but he didn’t. She gestured to the couch, saying, “Well, I should really-“

“Do you have anyone here to take care of you?” Oliver asked, glancing into her house.

“It’s just a cold,” Felicity told him. “John got me everything I might need. He offered to stay here, but I told him to go home to Lyla. I really just need to rest and-“

“Well, I think it won’t hurt if I stay here and make sure you are as comfortable as you can be,” Oliver interrupted her with a smile. When Felicity didn’t answer, he pushed his hands into the pockets of his pants and added, “We’re friends now, aren’t we?”

Since that day in her office when they had agreed on being friends, they only had had two more appointments. The party season that had started when she had first hired Oliver was slowly coming to an end. With the technology fairs coming closer people in their branch had to invest more time into work and had less time for parties or charity events. Actually, everything had been like before. They had spent their evenings together when they had had an appointment. They had enjoyed talking about shallow things and meaningless stuff. Then they had gone home to her place and had sex. It was the same routine like they had had before they had decided to be friends.

“I don’t-“

“We could use this evening to get to know each other a little bit better,” Oliver suggested like he had been reading her thoughts. “We didn’t have much time for that since we decided to be friends and-“

When Felicity started coughing again, Oliver used the opportunity. He stepped forward, putting his hands to her shoulders and gently pushed her into the house. He kicked the door shut behind him, and just led her to the couch. He made her sit down and soothingly rubbed her back while Felicity was getting her breathing back under control slowly.

“You really don’t have to stay here,” Felicity told him. “I am sure you have better things to do with your evening.”

“Actually I don’t,” Oliver replied. He carefully pushed at her shoulders to make her lie down and then adjusted the blanket around her. “Tommy has an appointment with a client and isn’t available, so there is only one friend left to spend time with.”

Felicity smiled, making herself comfortable on the couch. “I should warn you that I am not much fun today, though.”

Oliver chuckled. “That’s okay. I am enough fun for both of us.”

He winked at her, and Felicity rolled her eyes in response. Oliver took off his suit jacket and put it over the backrest of one of the armchairs. He unbuttoned the sleeves and started to roll them up, revealing his strong arms. Felicity was unable to look away, watching him intensely instead. She could see the thick veins on his forearms and licked her lips at the thought of how-

“Are you drinking coffee?” Oliver’s question startled her out of her thoughts.

“Hm?” Felicity asked, quickly looking up at his face to see him looking at the coffee mug on the couch table.

She felt heat rising to her cheeks, and this time it hadn’t had anything to do with the fever and everything to do with the fact that she had been quite deep in her thoughts about what she wanted to do with the veins on Oliver’s forearms. Well, maybe it was the fever’s fault then after all because her thoughts would have been much more controlled if it wasn’t for the fever to mess with her brain.

“Felicity?” Oliver called her attention back on him.

“Right. I mean yes,” Felicity said quickly, shaking her head to get rid of these distracting images in her mind. When her surroundings started spinning once more, she put her hand to her forehead with a groan, squeezing her eyes shut.

“Do you have a fever?” Oliver asked. Felicity was about to lie and tell him she didn’t, but before she could do so, Oliver already added, “Let me check.”

His voice was suddenly much closer, and Felicity opened her eyes in surprise. Oliver was kneeling in front of the couch, reaching out a hand for her face. He gently pushed her fingers out of the way before he leaned down and pressed his lips to her forehead. His stubble tickled her skin in a way she had grown astonishingly used to in the last months. Oliver’s lips lingered on her skin for a long moment before he pulled away.

“Yeah, you definitely have a fever,” he told her, stroking his hand over her hair, while he was leaning back. “Do you have anything for fever here?”

“Maybe in the bag with the stuff John got me,” Felicity replied. “I was too tired to check what exactly is in there.”

“And tea?”

Felicity shrugged her shoulders. “Maybe.”

“Mind if I check?” Oliver asked.

“No, make yourself at home,” Felicity replied with raspy voice. “The kitchen is over there.”

Oliver nodded, taking the mug from the coffee table. “Okay, I’ll check.”

He turned around and headed towards the kitchen. Felicity watched him, her eyes falling on his butt. She loved squeezing it, especially because it never failed to elicit that deep grumble from somewhere deep in his chest. She loved that low sound. She-

“Could you please shut up?” Felicity asked her brain, slapping her fingers against her forehead. She hissed when that made her headache only worse.

“Did you say something?” Oliver asked, sticking his head into the living room.

“Just talking to myself,” Felicity mumbled. Oliver chuckled, but disappeared back into the kitchen.

Felicity was used to the lack of a brain-to-mouth-filter. She had been living with it for several years. She also knew that her thoughts could run quite wild. She was annoyed about her lack of control over her thoughts tonight, though. She knew it was the fever messing with her brain, so it only added to the long list of reasons why she hated being sick. She hoped it would be over rather sooner than later.

“Okay, I found some pills that should help with the fever,” Oliver called from the kitchen. “And Diggle brought you chamomile tea and fennel tea. Any preferences?”

Felicity scrunched up her nose. She wasn’t much of a tea-drinker. She preferred coffee. Nonetheless she replied, “Fennel tea please.”

Felicity closed her eyes and listened to the noises from the kitchen. She was almost back asleep when she heard Oliver coming back to the living room. She opened her eyes, seeing him approaching her with a glass of water and a small pill box in his hands.

“The tea needs a few minutes,” he told her, putting the glass and the pill box to the couch table and opening the pillbox. “Package insert says two of these should help. I will prepare some leg compresses in the meantime. Bathroom?”

“Over there,” Felicity replied, gesturing to one of the doors behind her. “Towels are in the small cabinet under the sink.”

Oliver nodded and walked over to the bathroom. Felicity sat up and grabbed the pill box from the couch table. She took a look at the etiquette and sighed.

“Everything alright?” Oliver asked from the bathroom over the sound of running water.

“Yeah,” Felicity responded, looking towards the bathroom over her shoulder, “just not happy about the choice of pills.”

“I can head to the pharmacy and get you something else,” Oliver suggested.

“No, it’s okay,” Felicity replied before she added in mumble, “I doubt there is any pill I don’t react to weirdly anyway.”

“Hm?” Oliver asked when he stepped back into the living room.

“I just don’t react very well to most pills,” Felicity explained.

Oliver stepped next to her. He put some dry towels to the couch table and then put the two wet towels he had brought to the floor. While he was covering the end of the couch where her legs would rest with one of the dry towels he asked, “Are you allergic or-?”

“No, I just… I don’t know,” Felicity replied with a sigh. “I feel like I am…”

She gestured around, unable to find a word for it. Oliver just frowned at her, obviously not understanding. Felicity shrugged her shoulders and put the subject off with a gesture of her hand. He would see what she meant anyway.

While Oliver went to get the tea, she swallowed the two pills and then downed the rest of the water. The cold liquid created a nice contrast to her hot skin, and it helped soothing the pain in her throat. When Oliver got back he put the two mugs and the Thermos bottle to the couch table and poured both of them some tea.

He then kneeled down next to Felicity’s feet and lifted the blanket off of her legs. The chilly air made a cold shiver run through her body. Smiling apologetically, Oliver put a hand to her calf, massaging it gently, while he was simultaneously grabbing one of the wet towels. He put it around her lower leg and wrapped another dry towel around it. He then did the same for her other leg.

Felicity watched him. She kind of enjoyed being taken care of like this. It had been a long time since someone had done that for her. Of course she could deal with being alone and taking care of herself. She didn’t necessarily _need_ someone to take care of her, but she had to admit that she liked having someone to do it nonetheless.

Once Oliver put the blanket back in place over her feet, he got up and walked around the couch to the end where her head had been resting before. He took her pillows from the spot, sat down and rested the pillows on his thighs. Before Felicity could ask what exactly he was doing, he was already pulling at her shoulders, making her lie back down with her head resting on the pillows on his thighs.

“Are you comfortable?” he asked, starting to gently stroke his warm hand over her hair.

“Very,” Felicity said with a sigh.

She smiled at Oliver for a moment before she closed her eyes. She really was comfortable, more than comfortable even. She felt warm and safe like she could stay here like this forever.

“Do you want to sleep a little?” Oliver asked with quiet voice.

Felicity shook her head, opening her eyes again. “No, not yet.”

“Want to watch a movie?”

Again Felicity shook her head. “No.”

Oliver smiled, still stroking his hand over her hair. “Then what do you want to do?”

“You could tell me something about you,” Felicity suggested. “You know, something you’d tell a friend about you because we are friends now, aren’t we?”

He still smiled, but the slightest of a frown formed on his forehead, and his hand stopped for brief second before continuing to stroke over her hair. If he noticed the way her voice sounded like she was tipsy, he didn’t mention it. Instead he asked, “Things like what?”

“I don’t know,” Felicity replied, shrugging her shoulders. “For example you could tell me why you know how to take care of someone who’s sick.”

“And what would you tell me in return?”

“In return I could tell you that pills often make me feel like I am drugged,” Felicity replied. Oliver was about to answer when Felicity frowned. “Well, at least I think this is what it feels like when you’re drugged. I never took drugs, you know? I tried a pot brownie once, but it ended badly because I am allergic to nuts. Really wasn’t a nice experience.”

Oliver chuckled. “Trust me, trying drugs is not as cool as it sounds like.”

“Did you try some?”

“Only pot,” Oliver replied, “nothing hard.”

“No fun?”

“Oh, it was a lot of fun,” Oliver replied, “but my life wouldn’t be lacking a great life experience if I hadn’t tried.”

“Sounds like it makes sense,” Felicity said.

Oliver smiled at her, eying up her face. “It’s kind of cute when you’re like this.”

“Hey, the pills aren’t even operating properly yet,” Felicity said. “Give it some minutes, and I will be-“

She was interrupted by a cough. She turned onto her side, pushing her face into the pillow a little, to let the pillow swallow the coughs. It took a few seconds until she was able to breathe again.

“Here, drink some tea,” Oliver suggested.

He leaned over her to get one of the mugs from the couch table and handed it to her. Felicity sat up, took a few sips and put the mug back down. Sighing, she slumped back on the couch. She closed her eyes while Oliver’s hands started stroking over her hair again.

“Being sick is exhausting,” Felicity said, rolling back onto her back.

Oliver smiled at her gently, not saying a word. Felicity smiled back at him, looking into the deep blue of his eyes. She loved the color of his eyes. It was so easy to get lost in them. Today there wasn’t any hunger in them, just tenderness. It didn’t make him any less attractive and-

Felicity quickly shook her head, and Oliver chuckled.

“Everything alright?”

“My brain does weird things when I am on pills.”

Again Oliver chuckled. “Like what?”

“Thinking about weird things,” Felicity just replied, but then frowned. “It’s actually your fault because you are not doing your job right.”

Oliver perked up an eyebrow. “I am not doing my job right?”

“Yes,” Felicity replied, suppressing a cough. “You were supposed to tell me something about you. So how did you know about leg compresses and such stuff? Did you do an apprenticeship as a nurse?”

“No,” Oliver replied with a chuckle, and Felicity perked up her eyebrow in a wordless request to tell her how else he knew. Oliver’s smile tensed, and he cleared his throat before he said, “I fear that belongs to the things I don’t want to talk about.”

“Oh,” Felicity said, remembering that they had agreed on not talking about their families. “So then just tell me anything else.”

“Like what?”

Felicity sighed, trying to think about something. “How about you tell me about your job?”

Oliver perked up an eyebrow. “You know about my job.”

“Yes, I do,” Felicity replied, barely able to suppress a slight giggle, but she turned it into a cough. If the expression in Oliver’s eyes was any indication, he didn’t really buy that it was a cough, but Felicity just ignored that. She just asked, “What’s the weirdest thing you were ever asked to do?”

“The weirdest thing,” Oliver replied with a sigh. He pressed his lips together, thinking about how to answer. “I had a client who just wanted me to watch her undressing herself from outside her window. That was kind of weird.”

“But you got in after and had sex with her?” Felicity asked.

Oliver shook his head. “No. She just wanted me to watch her undress herself.”

“Did she at least make it a show?”

“No,” Oliver replied, shaking her head.

Felicity frowned. “That’s really weird.”

Like who would look at Oliver and not use his body to have some good fun? It had only taken her a few minutes to understand how much fun it could be to let him take care of her sexual desires. And though she had held back at first, it had been good from the start.

“What-?”

“No, I think it’s my turn now,” Oliver interrupted her, shaking her head.

Felicity frowned. “I am sick and on pills. Nothing that will be said or done tonight can be held against me. I hope you know that.”

Oliver chuckled, shrugging his shoulders. “I think that will only make it even more fun. You know, drugs loosen the tongue a little bit.”

“I think my tongue is already really loose,” Felicity replied. As if she needed to prove it, she stuck out her tongue and moved it around, showing how loose it was. When Oliver perked up an eyebrow, Felicity coughed. “See? That is what’s happening when I am on pills.”

“It’s still cute,” Oliver assured her.

“Thank you,” Felicity replied, blushing slightly. “So what’s your question?”

Oliver hummed, playing with a strand of her blonde hair. “What’s your deepest sexual desire?”

Felicity looked at him for a long moment before she laughed. It soon turned into another coughing attack, and she had to turn away from him to get into a position that allowed her to catch some breath between the coughs. Tears had sprung to her eyes when she was finally able to take in a deep breath again. Her lungs were burning, her mouth feeling dry. She took a few sips of her tea before she lay back down on Oliver’s thighs and turned around to him.

“That’s quite an intense question to start with.”

Oliver chuckled. “You were the one starting to talk about sex.”

“No, I talked about your job,” Felicity corrected him.

“Well, my question stays the same nonetheless,” Oliver explained. Felicity bit down on her bottom lip, while Oliver looked at her almost challengingly. Only when she didn’t answer, he added, “Come on, we’re friends. We can talk about things like that.”

“I don’t think I would talk to John about something like that,” Felicity objected.

“That is because Diggle and you have more of a relationship like siblings, while we are a lot more like friends with benefits.”

“Friends with benefits?” Felicity asked.

“Yeah. We are friends, and we sleep with each other. I think that is the very definition of friends with benefits.”

“But I pay you.”

Oliver shrugged his shoulders. “Detail. Come on, Felicity, tell me. You can trust me with that. Besides, I am the one in charge of your sexual pleasure, so telling me would be a good idea.”

“Hey, I am the one in charge of my sexual pleasure,” Felicity replied. “I order, you deliver, remember?”

“Yeah, but if you don’t order what you we really want, it’s hard to deliver that.”

Felicity frowned, looking Oliver up. She didn’t know if it was because of the fever or because of the pills or maybe just because this moment was so comfortable despite the intensity of Oliver’s eyes on her face. Whatever it was, she took in a breath and whispered, “Why would you think that? That I am not telling you what I really want I mean?”

Oliver pressed his lips together for a short moment. His eyes took in her face carefully, his hand stroking over her hair gently. He then answered, “It’s hard to say. Call it experience?”

Felicity had been holding back. She knew that. She had been holding back by setting up boundaries that she had felt were necessary. She also knew that she had broken her boundaries several times. Was she still holding back, though? Felicity wasn’t sure and, admittedly, she didn’t want to think about it, especially not right now. She had pushed her boundaries by using Oliver for her sexual pleasure when they had first met. Then she had pushed her limits by taking her pleasure a little further every time until they had ended up having sex in the bathroom attached to her office. That was as far as she was willing to go for now. If she wondered about whether she was still holding back, though, she would have to eventually admit that she was and realize that there were still so many other things she could experience if she gave into her secret desires. She just wasn’t ready for that yet.

She squeezed her eyes shut with a sigh, unable to look at Oliver any longer, especially since she was thinking about the answer to his question. She bit down on her bottom lip, thinking. There were a lot of things she wanted to try. She wasn’t exactly adventurous in bed, or at least she didn’t consider herself adventurous in bed, but that didn’t mean that she didn’t have certain fantasies.

“I think I want to have someone enter me from behind while we are both standing,” she said, already feeling heat forming in her cheeks. Adding the fever to it, she almost felt like her head was going to explode. “Maybe he would bend me over the kitchen counter or take me in the shower.”

Even after she had said the words, she kept her eyes closed, not ready to face Oliver again. She didn’t know if she expected him to laugh at her. He had asked, and he had probably heard about weirder sexual desires as he had proven by answering her question before. It was probably the reason why he didn’t laugh. Slowly Felicity blinked through an eye, finding his slightly darkened eyes on her.

“When is our next appointment again?” he asked before Felicity could say anything. She slapped his chest, but it only made Oliver chuckle. Instead he said, “It’s your turn.”

Felicity propped herself up on her forearm and took another sip of her tea. When she lay back down, Oliver adjusted the blanket around her, making sure she was perfectly embraced by the warmth.

“How exactly did you get that scar on your lower back?” Felicity asked. “You said it was a motorcycle accident, but I want to know more.”

Oliver’s hand stopped in her hair for a short moment before his fingers started playing with her blonde curls again. He put his other arm on the backrest of the couch, propping his head up on his hand, while he kept looking at her.

“Before my parents died, I was kind of reckless,” he explained, and Felicity’s breath got hitched slightly at the mention of his parents because apparently she wasn’t the only one crossing boundaries when they were together. “I was partying a lot, drinking and getting into trouble. After my parents died, it got even worse for awhile. I reacted poorly to their death, and I ended up riding on the motorcycle drunk. I had a lot of accidents, most of them smaller ones, but also some rather bad ones. Anyway, I ended up with a bunch of scars reminding me to be better.”

“So the scar isn’t your only one?” Felicity asked.

“No,” Oliver replied. “I have a lot of scars on my back and chest, some on my legs and arms.”

Felicity nodded slowly. She remembered how he had tensed when she had touched them during their quickie in the bathroom of her office. After that she hadn’t dared to touch it again. She hadn’t wanted him to feel uncomfortable like that.

“Do they hurt?” she asked.

“No.”

“Did any client ever complain about them?”

Oliver pressed his lips together shortly. “The scars are written into my profile as an escort. Some clients don’t even consider meeting me because of them, others think it could be sexy, but then they see the scars and turn me down because of them. Only few clients don’t care at all.”

“I am sorry,” Felicity whispered.

Oliver shrugged his shoulders. “It’s okay. It’s just hard to establish a base of regular clients with that.”

They just looked at each other for a long moment. Oliver didn’t look sad, but she still felt like she should comfort him. It couldn’t be easy earning money with one’s body when said body wasn’t appreciated just because it didn’t look perfect.

“You know I have scars too,” Felicity explained. “They are in my mouth.”

Oliver perked up an eyebrow. “Really?”

“I had my wisdom teeth removed when I was fifteen, and now I have four scars in my mouth,” she explained. When Oliver’s eyes glinted with amusement, Felicity pressed her lips together and pulled them into her mouth. “And that is what happens when I take pills.”

“It’s still cute,” Oliver replied with a chuckle. He leaned over her and took his mug from the table to take a sip. When he leaned back again, he stated, “I guess it’s my turn again, and I have to say there is one thing that really keeps me wondering. You are beautiful, smart, funny, interesting and probably a lot of other things.”

Felicity perked up an eyebrow. “I am glad that is not a question.”

“Well, the question is why don’t you have a boyfriend?”

“I don’t have time to date,” she replied automatically because it was her usual answer. “I told you that already… I think.”

Oliver perked up an eyebrow. “We spend a lot of evenings together.”

“They aren’t dates, though,” Felicity replied.

“Okay, that is true,” he replied, “but I am sure your schedule isn’t that full that you can’t even take one evening off to meet with someone.”

Of course there would be time to take one evening off, but it wouldn’t be enough, would it? You had to invest time to build a relationship, a lot of time actually. Felicity didn’t want to start something that she wasn’t sure she could work on properly. It would only lead to frustration. Besides, women in her position really didn’t find someone easily.

“Well, if it calms you down, I have a date in a few days.”

“Oh, please don’t say Palmer.”

Felicity chuckled with throaty voice. “What’s your problem with him?”

“No, not Palmer,” Oliver just replied, letting his head fall back against the backrest of the couch with a chuckle. “Really, Felicity, you can have so many men, why him?”

“I told you why,” Felicity replied. “We are very similar. He’s perfect for me.”

Oliver rolled with his eyes. “I tell you he’s not.”

Now it was Felicity’s turn to roll her eyes. “You can’t know that.”

“Oh, I do know that,” Oliver explained. “Two people that are very much alike will bore the hell out of each other. Like what would you ever fight about?”

“I would appreciate if we wouldn’t fight, you know?”

Oliver snorted. “No fighting means no makeup-sex, and I can tell you that makeup-sex is great if done properly.”

“Oh, it all comes back to sex for you, doesn’t it?”

“I am an expert in sex, remember?”

“I admire your professional view on-“

“Oh, sorry,” Oliver interrupted her when his phone rang. He pushed his hand into the pocket of his pants and looked at the display. He pressed his lips together shortly before he said, “Sorry, I need to take this.”

“Yeah, of course,” Felicity replied, sitting up.

Oliver smiled apologetically, pushing the pillows away from his lap. He quickly got up and hurried towards the kitchen. As soon as he had left the living room, Felicity took her mug of tea, holding it in both of her hands.

She didn’t like that they had been interrupted. It had been so comfortable to talk to him like that. She had almost forgotten how tired and exhausted she was because talking to Oliver like this had been fun. It hadn’t even felt like she was his client. With the way they spoke openly in the privacy of her home without anyone around, it really felt like they were friends. She felt like she was really getting to know him only now that they weren’t around dozens of foreign people like it had been when they had talked during the galas Felicity had taken him to. She had liked it like this.

The phone call had interrupted that. It was like Felicity was back in reality, a reality where Oliver was an escort she paid to spend her company. She paid John money, too, but it was different because she didn’t pay him money to keep her company. When John talked to her about personal stuff, it was because he wanted to. With Oliver the lines were much more blurry. Yes, he had agreed on spending time with her tonight although she had officially canceled the appointment. He hadn’t known about it, though, so he probably wouldn’t have been here if he had known.

The thing was that, though he was being paid, she didn’t feel like being here with him was forced. She felt like herself. She liked talking to him. She actually missed the warmth of his body and the touch of his hand in her hair now that he was in the kitchen, probably talking to one of his other clients. Felicity just wasn’t sure how much of her interactions with him was influenced by his job and how much was just them trying to be friends. It was irritating to say the least.

Her surroundings started spinning once more, and Felicity was almost sure that it wasn’t just because her fever. Her thoughts were running wild in her head, not helping to ground her. She wondered if it really had been a good idea to let him in and talk to him tonight.

When she heard Oliver saying goodbye to the caller, she quickly emptied her mug.

“Sorry for the interruption,” Oliver apologized once he got back, smiling at her. “This shouldn’t keep us from continuing our conversation about Ray Palmer, though, because-“

“Actually,” Felicity interrupted him, clearing her throat, “I am very tired. I think I should go to bed.”

“Oh,” Oliver said disappointedly, pushing his hands into the pockets of his pants.

Felicity lowered her gaze to the empty mug in her hand. She didn’t want him to leave. She wanted him to sit down on the couch again, so she could lie back down and they could continue to talk. She just didn’t feel like it was right. She was… Felicity didn’t even know a word to describe it.

“Well, I guess I am going to spend a boring evening in front of the TV then,” Oliver said, and Felicity looked up to give him a half-hearted smile. “Usually I would call my sister and ask her to spend the evening with me, but she just called. She has a new boyfriend, and they seem to be attached to their hips, so she doesn’t have time for her old brother anymore.”

Felicity already opened her lips to reply when she figured that she had no idea what to say to that. She had suspected that he had a sister even before she had known who he was. She had also remembered that Robert and Moira Queen had had two children, but she hadn’t spent much thought on that because Oliver hadn’t wanted to talk about his family anyway. She didn’t know how to react to his words now. Did he want to talk about his family now after all or did her just say that to have something to say that would end the awkward silence that had settled between them before?

“I came to Starling to spend more time with her again,” Oliver continued when Felicity didn’t say anything, “but it actually seems like she would rather spend time with her boyfriend. I shouldn’t be mad because she is young and Roy seems like a decent guy, but it’s still a little annoying that we don’t get to spend as much time together as I thought we would.”

Felicity nodded slightly. Okay, he was definitely in for talking about his family. It felt a little weird because she had just told him that she wanted to go to sleep. The thought of digging a little deeper into who Oliver Queen was kept her from insisting on her need for sleep, though. She put her mug to the table and wrapped the blanket higher around her.

“Are you two close?” she asked.

Oliver nodded. “We’ve been very close, especially after our parents died. All we had was each other, so we were basically inseparable. When we lost all the money, it got complicated, though. I was old enough to live alone, but Thea was still a minor. I wasn’t allowed to take custody for her, and I probably wouldn’t have been ready, even if I had been allowed. She lived with our parent’s housemaid then. Raisa was a great woman. She raised Thea and me from the beginning to be honest. She didn’t have much money, but she was a wonderful person. She did her best to raise her.”

“Sounds like a good person to me,” Felicity whispered.

“She was,” Oliver affirmed. He sat down on the armrest of the couch, facing her. “She died right after Thea graduated high school.”

“Sorry to hear that.”

Oliver shrugged his shoulders. “Thea and I just didn’t have much luck with parents.”

That felt like a huge understatement, Felicity thought to herself. People like her didn’t have much luck with parents. Her father had left, and she and her mother didn’t get along too well because they were just too different. Living hundreds of miles apart and only seeing each other occasionally was the only way for them to not fight over the stupidest things all the time. What Oliver and Thea had experienced with the death of their biological parents, the betrayal of the man that had been responsible for them and then the death of the woman who had agreed to raise Thea after all that mess before was more than just a lack of luck.

Felicity pulled her legs to her chest, moving her arms around them under the blanket. The towels slid down her legs and ended wrapped around her feet, but Felicity didn’t care.

“Does Thea know about your job?”

“She knows I am an escort,” Oliver replied, “but she doesn’t know about the special services.”

“Oh, it must be hard to keep that from her.”

Oliver sighed. “At the beginning it was just supposed to be a joke, you know? Tommy was pissed at his father. He wanted to provoke him. We found a flyer about the agency and decided to do this together. It was really just fun. Then we found out that Thea’s and my guardian wasted all the money, and we were actually broke. I couldn’t pay for college anymore, and once the question of who takes custody for Thea was answered, I knew that she would never be able to go to college either because Raisa would never be able to afford it. Thea is a lot smarter than me. I dropped out of several colleges before I had to leave the final one. I just didn’t put any effort into my studies. I was used to being rich and… I didn’t need to go to college to be happy, but I really wanted Thea to have the chance to go. I knew I would need to save money to pay for that, though. Astonishingly, Tommy and I made quite good money at the agency, so we just continued to do it. At the beginning we thought that we were just doing it until we found something better, but...”

Oliver shrugged his shoulder. He smiled sadly at her for a moment before lowering his gaze. Felicity wasn’t sure if he was ashamed of the story he had told her about himself or if he just realized what intimate details he had just told her. Like a few hours ago he hadn’t wanted to talk about his family at all, and now he was giving her some deep insight into his life.

Given how they had gotten to know each other it was almost weird that he was doing this soul striptease before she had ever seen him naked.

Felicity frowned. “Is Tommy Tommy Merlyn?”

“Uhm…” Oliver said slightly uncomfortable massaging the back of his neck.

Felicity quickly put her thumb and forefinger to her lips and pretended to zip them. It wasn’t Oliver’s fault she had made the conclusion. She was about to ask another question, too nosy to hold back, but the intake of breath caused another coughing attack. Her whole body was shaking from the terrible need for breath. She gasped for air between coughs desperately, tears forming in her eyes. Oliver quickly passed the distance between them. He sat back down on the couch, soothingly rubbing her back until the coughs finally ended. He then pushed at her shoulder to make her lie back down with her head in the pillows on his lap.

“Being sick is so terribly exhausting,” she said with a sigh.

“You should really go to a doctor,” Oliver told her, adjusting the blanket back around her, so she was safely wrapped into it.

“No, I’m never sick,” Felicity replied, making herself comfortable.

Oliver chuckled. “Felicity, you already are sick.”

“No, I am not,” Felicity replied, and when Oliver cocked his head, she quickly added, “Don’t distract me. We were talking about you.”

“Okay, what else do you want to know?”

Felicity bit down on her bottom lip for a short moment before she asked, “Why did you go to Central City in the first place?”

“I thought it was safer to work in Central City. I didn’t want people to know about my job because I didn’t want Thea to know,” Oliver explained, and Felicity didn’t miss that his hands immediately started to stroke over her hair again. “In Central City it seemed safer, now that years have passed I hope nobody will recognize me.”

Felicity nodded slowly. “It can’t be easy hiding who you really are all the time.”

“It’s not,” Oliver replied.

“Yet you told me who you really are when we first met,” Felicity almost whispered.

Oliver just looked at her with the slightest of a smile on his lips. His deep blue eyes were focused on her face, taking in every inch of it. When his eyes locked back on hers, Felicity almost felt like she could get lost in the expression in his eyes. She felt comfortable and content, warm and safe.

Oliver’s smile widened slightly, and Felicity’s gaze moved to his lips. They looked as soft as always. Felicity wetted her lips with her tongue, wondering once more how his lips would feel against hers. What would he taste like? Was he a good kisser? He had to be a good kisser. He was so good at sex that he just had to be a good kisser, right?

Felicity didn’t miss how Oliver’s hand stopped moving in her hair. Their eyes were locked again, neither of them looking away. They breathed in the same rhythm.

There was that part of Felicity that wanted to straighten up and kiss him. She had ached to kiss him for quite some time now. His lips were a constant temptation whenever they were together. If she could experience what it would feel like to kiss him only once, maybe the desire would cease. For now kissing Oliver was the one boundary that was still upright, so maybe that was why she longed to kiss him so much. For just a moment she wanted to leave all boundaries behind.

Oliver moved his head slightly, putting his chin further down and bringing his lips just a little bit closer to hers. The distance between them was still way too large for her to kiss him, but something told Felicity that maybe he was feeling the same prickling tension that she felt between them right now. His fingers that had loosely tangled in her hair before were slowly stroking over her right cheek to her chin now. Only when his thumb grazed her bottom lip, Felicity noticed that she had bitten down on it and-

She sneezed three times in a row, her head jerking off the pillows every time. Oliver chuckled, saying, “Bless you!”

“Thanks,” Felicity replied. Oliver handed her the box of tissues from the couch table and Felicity smiled shortly, saying once more, “Thanks.”

Once she had wiped her nose, she lay back down. She glanced at Oliver shortly, finding him smiling amusedly. Gone was the reverent look on his face, and gone was the moment of whatever there had been between them. Felicity closed her eyes with a quiet sigh and rolled onto her side. She pushed an arm under her head and tugged the blanket up to her chin. When Oliver’s hand started moving through her hair once more, Felicity sighed contently.

“Do you want to sleep now?” Oliver asked with quiet voice.

“No,” Felicity said with a sigh. She turned back around onto her back, looking at Oliver. “I want to keep talking to you a little if you don’t mind.”

She knew that it was probably a little suspicious how she had changed her opinion. A few minutes ago she had told him that she wanted to sleep right after he had received that call. Now she was insisting on talking to him, though. Hopefully he wouldn’t think it had anything to do with the fact that the called hadn’t been a client because it hadn’t anything to do with that.

“No, of course not,” Oliver replied with a smile that made her forget her worries that he could realize her weird change of plans. “I am glad I can stay longer.”

He smiled at her warmly, and Felicity smiled back. She quickly looked away, focusing on the topmost button of his shirt, though. The prickling moment before had been quite intense. She was still feeling the warmth that had been created by that streaming through her body. Unfortunately, the warmth also made her feel tired and maybe even a little bit dizzy. Her body felt like it was burning from the inside as it was already.

“What do you want to know?”

Felicity shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. Just tell me something, whatever you feel comfortable with.”

“Well, I could tell you how Tommy and I stole a taxi one night,” Oliver suggested.

“That sounds like a good story.”

It turned out that Oliver had a lot of good stories to tell. He and Tommy definitely had been wild boys during their time in high school and the years they had spent at several colleges, never managing to stay at the same college for more than two semesters. They hadn’t only stolen a taxi during a drunken night but had also peed on a police car. Luckily, those things had happened when both their families still had had money. That way their antics had been solved quickly. Money solved all problems, didn’t it?

He and Tommy had been inseparable since they had known each other. Tommy had been like the brother he had never had. After his mother had died, his father hadn’t spent much time with him, so Tommy had ended up hanging out with the Queens a lot. Robert Queen had taken Tommy in and raised him like he had his own son. Robert’s and Moira’s death had hit Tommy almost as hard as it had hit Oliver and Thea.

Oliver also told her how he and Tommy had once planned to open their own club one day. That idea had been created during one of their many party nights. Unfortunately, life hadn’t allowed them to do as they pleased. Without any money to start their club there would be no club at all. The dream hadn’t completely died yet, though. Maybe one day very far in the future they would be lucky and get the chance to try nonetheless.

Somehow the story about the club made Oliver rant about his sister’s new boyfriend who was occasionally working as a barkeeper in a club close to the Glades. No matter how often he emphasized that the boyfriend really was a decent guy, the annoyed tone in his voice left no doubt that Oliver didn’t like the fact that his sister had a boyfriend at all. Felicity remembered how she had already thought that he was a big brother when he had pointed out John’s brotherly behavior in the very first night when they had met. She knew that in the name of strong women all over the world she should be offended about Oliver’s overprotective attitude on Thea’s behalf, but she couldn’t get herself to do it. Oliver was sweet when he was talking about his little sister’s boyfriend like that. It almost reminded her a little bit of how he spoke about Ray.

He told her more stories about his childhood and youth, not mentioning his parents or his sister very often, but Felicity could feel them in the stories nonetheless. The way he spoke about his past memories, the ones before his parents had died and their guardian had screwed them over, so all money had been gone and Thea had started living with Raisa, made her feel so warm in her heart that it seemed to fill her whole body.

His quiet, slightly husky voice was calming. She didn’t realize that she had fallen asleep until she felt him push his hands under her body. Immediately she started moving, intending to sit up and give him room, so he could go, but Oliver’s hands tightened on her.

“Just hold still,” he whispered, his lips so close to her ear that she could feel them brushing against the lobe. His breath ghosted over the side of her neck, and it made goosebumps elicit on her tender skin. “I’ll carry you to bed, okay?”

Felicity only managed a quiet hum that she hoped was enough for Oliver to understand that she was giving her consent. When he got up, obviously understanding the tired sound she had made, Felicity’s head fell to his shoulder. The blanket that she had been wrapped into the past hours and that had kept her warm slipped off of her. Instinctively Felicity turned more towards Oliver, pressing herself closer to borrow from his warmth, and Oliver tightened his arms around her in response.

He put her down on the mattress, and Felicity shivered slightly at how cold the sheet was. She rolled herself together as much as she could, trying to save the warmth of her body. It didn’t keep her body from shaking slightly. She had been so comfortable and warm on the couch that the cold of the bedroom almost hurt.

“Do you have some fluffy socks?” Oliver asked.

“Hm?” Felicity asked back, unsure if she had heard right. She tried to open her eyes, but her eyelids felt too heavy.

“Do you have any fluffy socks?” Oliver asked again, putting the blanket on her shaking body and rubbing his hand over it to give her a little bit more warmth.

“Top drawer of my nightstand the panda ones,” Felicity replied before she turned her head into the pillow.

She was so tired. She just wanted to sleep.

She heard a drawer being opened, followed by a low chuckle. Then the mattress at the end of the bed dipped, and Oliver lifted the blanket off her feet. She immediately released a grumble, really not happy about the sudden cold after it had just gotten a little bit warmer under the blanket. Oliver’s warm fingers grabbing her right foot and putting the sock on for her made her sigh, though. He tugged her sweatpants into her socks and did the same at her left foot too. Only then did he pull the blanket back over her feet.

Felicity sighed, relaxing into the pillow and mattress. She felt so much more comfortable and warmer now again. She would certainly fall asleep soon, especially since Oliver’s fingers were back in her hair, stroking over her head gently.

“I will go now, okay?” Oliver whispered.

Felicity sighed contently. His voice so impossibly close, but she was facing away from him, and she didn’t feel able to move. That was why she just stayed like this, enjoying the caress for as long as it would last. His fingers let go of her hair way too soon for her liking, but her disappointment didn’t last long when soon later his lips pressed to her temple.

“Good night, Felicity.”

“Night,” Felicity whispered. “Thanks for being here tonight.”

“Sure,” Oliver replied. “It was a great evening.”

“Mhm,” Felicity hummed in agreement, smiling slightly. “Great evening.”

Oliver stroked his hand over her hair one last time before the mattress moved. She heard steps when he walked to the door where he seemed to stay for a couple of seconds before he continued his way to the door. When she heard the front door falling shut, Felicity sighed.

It really had been a great evening. Actually, it had been the nicest evening she had had in awhile despite the fact that she was sick, and that probably meant a lot.

It meant a lot. Felicity just needed to figure out what exactly it meant.


	6. Chapter 6

“Have a nice evening, Ms.”

“I doubt there is anything nice about this evening.”

The doorman looked at her in question. He probably hadn’t understood her quiet mumble over the loud music. Felicity just smiled quickly, waving the subject off and going past the doorman. With only a short second of hesitation to orientate herself in the club, Felicity headed right to the bar.

She pushed herself through the crowd of people, careful not to bump into anyone. She held her breath, trying to ignore the disgusting smell of too much alcohol and sweat she was met with. Every now and then she murmured an apology when she accidentally bumped into someone though it was barely ever her fault.

Once she had managed to cut her way through to the bar, she climbed onto one of the few bar stools that were free. Sighing, she grabbed the drink menu and considered ordering the cocktail that promised the worst headache for tomorrow, but then she decided to be rational instead. She would snow herself in with work as soon as she had woken up tomorrow. In that case she couldn’t have a hangover, though, so she ordered a glass of wine instead of a cocktail.

The barkeeper, a young guy with brown hair, put a glass of white wine in front of her. Felicity felt the urge to drink the wine in one go, but instead she just took a sip and put the glass back down to the bar counter then. Sighing, she turned on her chair, looking to where people were dancing exuberantly. The last time she had spent a night partying and dancing and just having fun like the other people here seemed to had been when she had still been in college. Now her evenings were filled with work, whether it was boring paper work or formal galas.

This had been the one evening in a long time that she had not spent working. Well, she didn’t count the evening last week when she had been sick and Oliver had taken care of her. She hadn’t been able to work that day anyway. Today she could have worked, and she had decided against it to have a date instead. Looking back, she definitely should have worked.

Felicity had never been lucky with relationships or with men in general. Her father had left her when she had been young. The few boyfriends she had had in the past had always screwed her over. The worst of the three of them had been Cooper. He had managed to twist her around his little finger, so she hadn’t noticed that he had stolen some of her work until it had been too late, and he had ended up in prison where he was hopefully still rotting.

Despite her troublesome past with men she had still given dating a chance. She was adult now, or at least more adult than she had been in college, and thanks to her unpleasant dating history her bullshit-generator had definitely improved. She trusted that bullshit-generator to protect her from making the same mistakes yet again. When she had met Ray and her bullshit-generator had kept quiet, she had thought that maybe now was finally her time to be the lucky girl who met the right guy.

Sighing, Felicity took another sip of her wine and shook her head. She was more than glad that she loved her work as much as she did. She would probably feel quite lonely and end up with a dozen cats if it was different, and she didn’t even like cats.

Felicity glanced at her watch. It was too early to head home and go to bed, but it was also too late to start working once more. Sitting alone in a club and drinking wine wasn’t exactly comforting either, though. Maybe she should really get cats, so at least she wouldn’t be alone at home after a disappointing evening like this.

When the hell had she started bothering about being alone Felicity wondered, frowning. She had always been okay with that, and in a way she still was. She had to admit that she was just a little less okay with that than she had been before. When had that happened, though? Nothing had changed in the last weeks that could have-

Felicity sighed. She knew exactly where this was coming from. Since she had hired Oliver, she had only had evenings out for work reasons. Each time she had taken Oliver with her to spend her company and then taken him home with her to relax. Then he had showed up when she had been sick and had taken care of her.

Quickly Felicity took another few sips of the wine. Since that evening last week Felicity had thought a lot about Oliver. She was still mostly convinced that the feeling of being so close to him and the urge to kiss him that had filled her that night had been caused by the fever. It was the only logical explanation for what had happened. On the other hand sometimes she wondered if he had felt it too, but why would he if it had really just been the fever?

Oliver had opened up to her that night and there had to be a reason why he had done that. Of course one could argue that maybe he had thought it wouldn’t matter because with the fever and the pills there had been a chance that she wouldn’t have remembered any of his words. Admittedly, Felicity might have a few little memory lapses, but she remembered most of what he had told her. He hadn’t had an easy life, and Felicity was kind of touched that he had told her so much about him after he had been so hesitant to start with.

Felicity sighed once more. She had felt so comfortable and content that evening. The warmth of his body had easily lulled her into sleep, his low voice like a lullaby. She couldn’t shake that feeling though, she didn’t even truly understand what that feeling was. It was-

“Why such a thoughtful face at a party, Ms. Smoak?”

“Oliver,” Felicity said, looking up from her wine.

He leaned against the bar right next to her, one arm propped up onto the counter. He looked casual despite the grey dress suit he wore. It was probably because he wasn’t wearing a tie and the topmost buttons of his white shirt were undone. His hair was a little shorter than last week, and Felicity distantly remembered that he had talked about an appointment with his hairdresser. His smile was framed by stubble of what Felicity felt was probably the perfect length. She couldn’t help the smile that formed on her lips or the tingling that spread in her stomach.

“Hi,” Felicity whispered, barely louder than a breath.

Oliver smiled at her for a moment longer before he wrapped an arm around her waist and chastely kissed her cheek. Felicity held her breath, enjoying the slight tickling of his stubble against her tender skin and the warmth of his hand on the small of her back. She put a hand to his shoulder and leaned her face against his lips slightly.

When he pulled back to look at her again, his hand stayed where it was. His face was still close, so he didn’t have to yell and his breath ghosted over the exposed skin of her neck and cleavage when he stated, “I thought today was the night of your important date.”

Felicity rolled her eyes. Even thinking about that horrific date made her groan. She was about to answer, but the words got stuck in her throat when her gaze focused back on Oliver’s face. His eyes were roaming over her body, taking in the thanks to the low neckline of her dress exposed cleavage. They took in the red dress that fit each of her curves perfectly and made her legs seem longer, especially in combination with the mega-heels she had picked for tonight. When his eyes slowly took a path up her body, Oliver licked his lips.

Sucking in a deep breath, Felicity pressed her lips together. She tried to get the image of Oliver licking her nipple and the feeling of his tongue against her sensitive skin off her mind. Instead the imagination of these sensations seemed to spread through her body, reminding each of her cells of what pleasure he was able to give her. Like she actually needed a reminder, Felicity thought, giving Oliver a slightly forced smile that she hoped would hide where her thoughts were going. The warmth she felt forming in her cheek and spreading down her neck and chest as she was blushing betrayed her, though.

“You look stunning to say the least,” Oliver told her.

“Thanks,” Felicity said so quietly that she wasn’t even sure he would hear her.

She bit down on her bottom lip, her eyes locked with Oliver’s. He was smiling at her, his gaze very intense on her face. Felicity felt like she had never been looked at like that. Oliver’s eyes were so gentle, yet they didn’t miss to tell her how much he wanted her. Or was she just projecting her own feelings and desires onto him? Because Felicity wanted Oliver.

After this lousy day with that terrible date she wanted her day to be better and she knew Oliver could make it better. That wasn’t the only reason why she wanted him, though. It wasn’t about getting some relief after a bad day. It was about Oliver and all his casual sexiness. She didn’t just want sex with anyone. She wanted sex with Oliver.

“So the date didn’t go well?” Oliver asked before Felicity was able to decide what exactly she was going to do with the realization of what she wanted.

“What would tell you that?” Felicity asked with a chuckle. “Is it the fact that I am sitting alone in a club, drinking?”

Oliver smiled. His hand slid from her back to her shoulder, brushing some strands of her blonde hair away. His eyes were still locked with his when his fingers traced the strap of her dress. With the little light there was in the club it was hard to tell, but Felicity believed that she could see his eyes darkening.

“It’s rather because I know that if I dated someone in this dress, I would make sure it would end up discarded on the floor.”

His words sent a jolt of pleasure right through her core. Felicity was holding her breath, not saying a word. She could feel her heart beating more quickly, pounding against her ribs almost painfully. She had a lot of things to say, starting with how she never slept with someone on a first date, but she was unable to form a coherent sentence. Her mind was running wild, thinking about what to do.

She felt the same warm, content feeling that had filled her during their evening a few days ago building between them. There was that tingling that spread through her body, filling her with excitement. When this had happened the last time, she had blamed the fever, but Felicity knew that she couldn’t blame it on that this time.

After a moment of hesitation Felicity took in a deep breath. She put a hand to his strong bicep to give her more leverage when she leaned forward, straightened up on the bar stool. Oliver ducked his head, leaning his lips against her ear.

“If your evening planning allows it, maybe I will let you take that missed chance.”

Felicity pulled back to look at Oliver, and he smiled at her. His fingers were still tracing the strap of her dress. When his fingertips grazed her tender skin, Felicity felt goosebumps eliciting. Oliver moved his fingers over her naked shoulder and down her arm before he pulled his arm back to him, pushing his hand into the pocket of his pants. His eyes lowered to her lips shortly before they lifted back to her eyes.

He was just about to say something when a young brunette put her hand to Oliver’s shoulder, calling his attention on her.

“Here you are!” she shouted over the loud music. “What took you so long?”

Felicity felt like she had just been punched in the stomach, or her face, or maybe even both. Of course Oliver wasn’t here alone. Who went into a club alone on a Friday night? Well, she did obviously, but she really wasn’t the person that she should compare others to. Anyway, Oliver wasn’t here alone. He was here with a client, a very young client, who would most likely want him to go home with her to give her the pleasure Felicity had imagined she might receive tonight.

She bit down on her bottom lip, lowering her gaze. There was no sense in trying to pretend that she wasn’t disappointed. Being pleasured by Oliver had been the one way she had seen her day ending on a happier note than it would have if she headed home alone. The thought of feeling the pleasure of an orgasm was a much better way to end this terrible day than to go home and curl herself together under the blanket of her cold bed.

It was more than disappointment about that, though. Felicity couldn’t say what it was, but there was this sting in her chest. She had been looking forward to spending the evening with Oliver, maybe talk some more before having sex. Of course she knew that she had no right to be hurt, though. They might be friends, but they hadn’t been supposed to meet today and of course he had a job that was his priority. She really had no right to feel this way. This was his job, a job she had always known he had because she had met him through it.

“I got… distracted,” Oliver explained, his gaze fixed on Felicity’s face again. The young brunette looked from Oliver to Felicity, eying her up shortly, and back to Oliver again. She was about to say something, probably complaining why he was giving someone else the attention she had paid for when Oliver instead said, “Thea, this is my friend Felicity.”

As relieved as Felicity felt about Oliver’s words, as shocked she felt about how relieved she was. This was the second time in only a few days that the fact that Oliver wasn’t talking to a client but to his sister was feeling like a relief to her. In the back of her mind Felicity heard a little voice warning her to be careful, but before she could figure out what exactly that voice was trying to warn her of, she was pulled from her thoughts.

“You have friends?” Thea asked her brother with an amused grin.

Oliver only rolled his eyes, while Felicity chuckled at the way the siblings interacted. She smiled at Thea then, explaining, “It’s a rather new development.”

“And how did the two of you meet?”

“Cinema,” Oliver and Felicity both answered in chorus.

Felicity shot Oliver a quick look. She was glad that they had wordlessly agreed on using the cover story they had made up during the second evening they had spent together. Felicity knew that Thea knew about the non-sexual part of his job, but Felicity was sure that the situation would get weird when Thea knew that Felicity was one of Oliver’s clients nonetheless.

“I am sorry I have distracted your brother that much,” Felicity told Thea. “I am sure you two have a lot to talk about, and I was-“

“Oh, I am actually very glad he met you, Fe- It’s Felicity, right?”

Felicity nodded. “Yes.”

“Okay, I am really glad you are here because my boyfriend just managed to swap shifts with one of his colleagues, so he can spend the evening with me instead,” Thea explained and quickly shot her brother an apologetic look. “I know we were supposed to spend the evening together, but this is the last night before all the tests start, so please, Ollie.”

Oliver rolled his eyes, but he nodded with a sigh. Immediately his sister wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a tight hug. Oliver circled her waist with his strong arms in response, pulling her against him. Felicity watched Oliver for a short moment, seeing the content and relaxed expression on his face, but she quickly looked away when she felt the depth of this moment between the siblings.

“Thanks for your understanding, Ollie,” Thea said when she pulled away. “I hope Felicity is going to spend the evening with you, so you have company?”

She looked at Felicity in question. Felicity’s eyes met Oliver’s, seeing the wordless pleading to say yes. She looked back at Thea, nodding her head. “Yes, someone has to take care of him, right?”

Thea chuckled. “Thanks. Have a great evening, you two.”

“You too, Speedy.”

Oliver sighed, letting go of his sister’s hand, and watched her pushing herself through the crowd of people in the club to where a young man in a black shirt was waiting for her. Oliver’s eyes followed his sister to the exit before he sighed once more, his shoulders slumping slightly. Smiling, Felicity reached out a hand for him and put it to his forearm. Immediately Oliver’s eyes found hers, his lips widening to a smile.

Felicity was about to lean forward and to say something when Oliver grabbed her hand and moved closer, saying, “Thanks to Thea’s boyfriend Roy we have a small corner in the VIP lounge in the back of the club for tonight. It’s less loud there. How about we grab something to drink and go there, so we can talk a little?”

Smiling, Felicity nodded. She quickly gulped down the rest of her wine while Oliver was already ordering another glass of wine for her and a beer for himself. He took the drinks in one hand and took one of her hands in his other hand. He smiled at her warmly before he led her through the crowd, making sure he wouldn’t spill any of their drinks despite the fact that several people bumped into him.

As soon as they stepped into the VIP lounge, Felicity sighed. The lounge was much cooler than back in the main area of the club. The air wasn’t filled with the smell of alcohol and sweat. Instead she could smell fresh apples. They were probably using some room scent. Soft music was playing lowly.

Oliver pulled her next to him and squeezed her hand. “That’s better right?”

“Much better,” Felicity replied with a chuckle.

“That’s our table,” Oliver explained, nodding at a table in the corner.

They made themselves comfortable on the leather seats, sitting close to each other. Felicity put her elbow to the backrest of the seat, propping her head up on her hand. She watched Oliver taking off the jacket of his suit and unbuttoning the sleeves of his shirt before rolling them up. He then mimicked her position, looking at her with a soft smile.

“So?” he asked, his smile widening, and Felicity perked up her eyebrow. “How was the date?”

Felicity rolled her eyes, making Oliver chuckle. She sighed, adding, “Don’t ask.”

She looked at the hem of her dress, figuring that sitting like this made it rise quite high on her thigh and hence reveal a lot of skin. Felicity sighed, not caring much, and combed her hair with her fingers. It had taken her forever to get ready for the evening. She had taken a lot of time to make sure she looked as good as possible. She had wanted to do it right since it had been the first date in a long time for her. Obviously it had been for nothing, though.

When Felicity looked back at Oliver, she found him still looking at her. If the expression on his face was any indication, he wasn’t going to let it go before she had told him more. Felicity took a sip of her wine before she leaned back with a sigh, nodding her head.

“Ray is really nice.”

“Ouch.”

Felicity frowned. She hadn’t said much yet. “What?”

“‘Really nice’ is not how I would want to be described after a first date.”

Felicity perked up an eyebrow. “How would you want to be described then?”

“Hm…” Oliver made. “Hot,” – Felicity rolled with her eyes – “charming, attentive, warm with a lot of humor?”

She nodded slowly, not looking away from Oliver. After biting down on her bottom lip for a moment, she just repeated, “Like I said Ray was really nice.”

Oliver chuckled again and she joined in. She knew that ‘nice’ was not really a good word to describe anyone, but there wasn’t much else to say about Ray. Admittedly, she had set the bar high with her expectations about him. She had expected Ray to be her male pendant and hence be just the right man for her. That probably hadn’t made it easy for him to make a lasting impression on her.

“So how  _ nice _ exactly was he?” Oliver asked.

Felicity sighed. “He was very polite like he always held the door open for me, but we really didn’t have a lot to talk about. Most of the time we were talking about work to be honest and of course it is nice to be able to talk with someone about work, but this evening was supposed to not be about work.”

“And he made it about work,” Oliver said.

Felicity nodded slowly. “I love my job. I love talking about my work, but this evening was supposed to help me get to know him. Instead I feel I got to know his company. It was terribly boring just like you said it would be.”

“Sorry to hear that.”

“Oh really?” Felicity asked, perking up an eyebrow. “I thought you were going make a happy dance since you were right about Ray.”

“I think what I would have wished for even more is for you to have had a great evening,” Oliver told her with a shake of his head, giving her a warm smile. “You would have deserved it.”

Felicity smiled, sucking in a deep breath. Oliver was always so attentive. He could have made another comment about Ray like he had done when they had met him during that one gala. He hadn’t done so, though, because he seemed to always know when the time for a joke was and when was the time to be serious. It seemed to be one of his many gifts. She was sure the evening would have been different if she had dated him instead of-

“Besides, I don’t dance.”

Felicity perked up an eyebrow. “I have danced with you.”

“Yes, standard dance. I am not in for a solo dance, though,” Oliver replied. When Felicity cocked her head, looking at him with a frown, he chuckled. “What?”

“I thought in your wild days you would have learned how to dance in a club,” Felicity said.

Oliver shook his head. “Nope, I didn’t.”

“Well, that’s a shame then,” Felicity said with a sigh.

“Why? Did you want to dance?” Oliver asked.

“I don’t know,” Felicity replied honestly. “It would have been nice, though. The last time I danced was when I was in college I think. I am quite a good dancer. I had good conditions to learn it.”

Oliver perked up an eyebrow. “How come?”

“I’m a Vegas girl.”

“Vegas? Wow.”

“My mom works as a cocktail waitress in a casino. Sometimes I was allowed to go with her, but I always had to stay at the bar. I had a good relationship with the barkeeper. He was a funny guy even if slightly scaring. Anyway, from my seat I always had a great view on the strip club that belonged to the casino. I learned how a good dance is supposed to look very early on.”

Felicity saw a glint in Oliver’s eyes, but it disappeared as quickly as it had crossed his face. He smiled at her, asking, “What about your father?”

“Not in the picture,” Felicity replied shortly, not willing to let the mood between them be destroyed by the man who had left her when she had been a child. He had ruined enough of her life. He wouldn’t ruin this too.

Oliver seemed to get the hint because he dropped the subject and told her instead, “Well, I guess you shouldn’t have told me.”

“Shouldn’t have told you what?” Felicity asked with a frown, not understanding.

“About your dance skills because now I want proof,” Oliver explained getting up and holding out a hand for her. “Come on, I won’t believe you unless you showed me.”

“Maybe I don’t care if you don’t believe me,” Felicity replied, cocking her head.

Oliver chuckled. “Come on, Felicity, we both know you want to dance, so we’ll dance.”

“I thought you didn’t dance?” Felicity asked, already putting her hand in Oliver’s and getting up from the seat. “What made you change your mind?”

“We both know you have the power to change my mind. You even made me tell you my real name,” Oliver responded with a smile. He was about to lead her to the main area of the club, so they could dance, but Felicity stood still. She frowned slightly, and Oliver perked up an eyebrow in question. “What?”

Felicity bit down on her bottom lip, wondering if she should ask the question that had suddenly popped up in her mind. Maybe it was silly of her to want to know because there wasn’t much to it for Oliver. She still had the feeling like she needed to know because it had been the start of-

Oliver stepped a little closer to her, swiping his thumb over her bottom lip to release it from the maltreatment of her teeth. Felicity leaned her head back a little, eying up Oliver’s face closely. He was smiling slightly, the sight making her stomach tingle. He didn’t say anything, didn’t ask what was going on. He just waited patiently until she was ready to ask or drop the subject.

“Why did you…” Felicity started, but she stopped.

Should she really ask? She wanted to know, but at the same time she didn’t want to know. In so little time she had broken one boundary after another with Oliver, and she felt the growing urge to cross the few ones that had still maintained until now. She had felt that urge the night when she had been sick, and she felt it again now. She knew that if she crossed a boundary today there would be no fever to be blamed. She would have to take responsibility for what she felt, wanted and did tonight.

“Why did you tell me your real name?”

She had wondered about that several times already because it had been what had really convinced her to make use of his special services. It had been the final push she had needed. It had made her trust him a little more and hence just enough to ask him into her house and her bed.

Oliver looked at her intensely, not saying a word. His eyes took in every inch of her face, and Felicity pressed her lips together, holding her breath. It wasn’t exactly easy to hold Oliver’s gaze since it seemed to reach deep under her skin. She felt tempted to take her question back, but she bit down on her tongue and endured the intensity of his eyes on her skin.

When a strand of her hair fell into her face, she lifted her hand to brush it away, but Oliver was quicker. He tugged at the blond curl, putting it behind her ear. Once his eyes were back on hers, he smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

“There was just something about you.”

As vacuous as his words felt, the expression in his eyes definitely made up for that. It was like his eyes were trying to tell the words that he couldn’t say out loud. Felicity might not be able to understand them yet, but she could see there was more to his words than Oliver let on right now. She felt a tingling in her stomach that soon spread through her veins into every cell of her body.

For awhile neither of them said a word. They just looked at each other, sharing a moment of closeness. It wasn’t until Oliver’s thumb started rubbing over her knuckles that Felicity realized they were still holding hands after she had put her fingers into his palm.

“Where is Mr. Diggle tonight?” Oliver asked her.

Felicity was slightly taken aback by the question, so she stuttered shortly before she answered, “I told him to take the night off.”

“No new threats?”

“Maybe it’s finally over,” Felicity replied with a sigh before she cocked her head and asked, “So… are we still going to dance?”

Oliver chuckled. Tugging at her hand, he nodded towards the main area of the club. “Come on.”

He led her back the same way they had gotten to the VIP lounge a couple of minutes before. Felicity was following him through the crowd of dancing people, never letting go of his hand. Oliver looked back over his shoulder at her from time to time like he wanted to make sure that he hadn’t lost her though her fingers in his hand should be proof enough for that.

Once they had reached the dance floor, Oliver tugged at her hand firmly, making her swirl in his arms. She came to stop only an inch away from him. A part of her body longed to lean forward and press against his, so she could feel him moving in tune with her. She decided against it, though. Oliver wanted a show to prove that she really knew how to dance, so a show would be what he would get.

Felicity started moving, blocking out everything but the way the beat of the music pounded through her chest. Her hips swayed from right to left over and over again. It had been a long time since she had danced to something else than the songs on her radio or the classical music during her evening occasions for work. This was different, though. She could just let go and move in tune with the music as much as with the crowd of people dancing around her. It was a good feeling.

When she opened her eyes to look at Oliver, she found him moving from one foot to the other almost awkwardly. She knew it was supposed to be a dance, but it rather looked like he was feeling uncomfortable. Chuckling, she realized that he really couldn’t dance.

“Don’t laugh!” he yelled over the loud music. “I grew up with standard dances!”

“You need to loosen your hips!” Felicity told him, putting her hands to his hips and moving them a little. Oliver seemed incredibly stiff, and it only made her laugh. “Come on, we both know your hips can do a lot more.”

Felicity licked her lips at the dark glint in Oliver’s eyes. She moved closer to him, so her body was almost flush against his. She started dancing again, her body actually rubbing against his in the process. It only took Oliver a heartbeat long to put his hands to her hips, his fingers grazing the curve of her ass, and start moving against her, suddenly so much more agile than before.

They danced for a while, embraced by the crowd of people around them and the music that was almost deafeningly loud. Their bodies rubbed against one another’s. Felicity could feel Oliver’s hard muscles like the outline of his abs against her stomach. Her heart was pounding firmly against her ribs, and it wasn’t solely because of their quick movements.

Felicity looked at Oliver, finding his eyes already on hers. Even in the semi-darkness of the club she could see that his pupils were dark and slightly widened. He looked at her almost hungrily, his lips slightly parted. When Felicity pressed her body a little closer to him, Oliver’s hands moved lower, so his fingers were now resting on her butt.

This half an hour or what it was that they had spent with each other now had brightened her day so much more than the two hours with Ray had managed to do. The date had pulled her down, while this unplanned meeting with Oliver had really built her back up in an instant. This – spending time with Oliver in a club, talking and dancing – was worth an evening off. This was how an evening off was supposed to be.

Oliver took one of her hands, swirling her once around herself. When he tugged at her hand then, her body pressed against him even more than it had before. Their eyes met, and they both stopped moving instantly, just standing close to another. Oliver lifted Felicity’s hand that he was still holding and laced their fingers.

Felicity’s gaze drifted down to his mouth. Once more she realized how soft his lips looked. She could almost feel his kisses on her neck and jaw, the brush of his lips against the shell of her ear. She felt drawn to his lips, the longing of feeling them against hers spreading through her body. Her heart pounded against her ribs firmly, almost threatening to break through the bones and jump out of her chest. Her breathing faltered when she licked her lips.

Everything around them seemed to be moving slower. Felicity couldn’t hear the music anymore over the loud rushing of blood in her ears. It was like in this moment it was only them, nobody else. She felt like she was getting lost in the dark blue of Oliver’s eyes.

Ever so slowly Oliver leaned forward. He ducked his head, bringing his lips impossibly close to hers. The tip of her nose bumped against hers slightly. She felt his breath ghosting over her face as there was only little space between them. Oliver didn’t close the distance, though. He lingered close to her, offering a kiss but leaving the choice of whether she wanted to take it up to her.

It took several beats of her heart before Felicity closed her eyes and leaned in. Her lips brushed against Oliver’s shortly before they pressed down a little bit more firmly. Oliver squeezed her hand, his other arm wrapping around her waist and pulling her close. He didn’t deepen the kiss at first. He just held her tightly against him with their lips staying closed.

Felicity felt her heartbeat quickening. Oliver’s lips were as soft as she had imagined from the touch of them against her neck and other sensitive parts of her bodies. His stubble tickled and scratched the sensitive skin around her mouth lightly, adding a wonderful sensation to the feeling of his lips against hers.

When her need for more increased, Felicity opened her lips. Her tongue swiped over Oliver’s bottom lip and he opened up to her. Slowly Felicity stroked her tongue into his mouth and against his. He tasted as perfectly as he smelled. The sweet taste of his tongue made her sigh into the kiss, straightening up on her toes and putting her arms around his neck tightly to pull him closer.

Oliver didn’t waste a second. His arms bent tightly around her waist, crashing her smaller body against his. His tongue and lips moved in synch with hers, putting so much into the kiss. Kissing Oliver was even better than she could have imagined. Maybe it was because of how intimate they already had been, but there was no awkwardness in the kiss. Their bodies reacted to one another like they knew exactly what the other wanted and needed. Felicity moaned quietly.  

She had anticipated kissing Oliver several times now. As much as she had tried to deny it, the thought of kissing him had been on her mind for weeks now. She had been drawn to his lips and to the idea of kissing him. Never had she anticipated it like this, and she didn’t just mean the kiss. She also meant how it made her feel. She had this tingling feeling in every cell of her body. It elicited goose bumps all over her back. She pressed herself closer to Oliver, trying to feel his entire body against hers.

They were still kissing when someone bumped against her from behind. Felicity lost her balance, almost falling against Oliver, but he kept her upright. His lips brushed against hers once more before he shot a quick look to the man that had run into her. His eyes were dark and angry. Obviously he was as unhappy about the rude interruption as Felicity was. She had to admit that the anger looked good on him, though.

As soon as his eyes found hers again, his face softened. He smiled at her warmly, loosening a hand from her back to stroke his fingers over her cheek gently. He leaned down and kissed her once more, chastely this time. When he pulled back, Felicity straightened up on her toes to chase his lips, but Oliver kept them right out of her reach, looking at her challengingly.

Huffing out a breathy laugh, Felicity licked her lips. She could still taste him on her and it turned her on more than she thought it would. When she straightened back up on her toes, she leaned her lips against his ear.

“My place?” she asked.

Oliver looked at her with hungry eyes, making her whole body tingle.

“I’ll get my jacket.”

 

 

Felicity felt like she was in a frenzy. She barely remembered how they had made it out of the club and to her townhouse. During their ride in the cab they had kept kissing, holding onto each other’s fingers and stroking their hands over each other’s face. The feeling of his stubble scratching the skin of her face and tickling the tip of her fingers still lingered on her skin.

Maybe it was simply because he was still kissing her with her fingers stroking over his stubbled cheek. Her back was pressed against her front door, her body caged in between Oliver’s strong arms and broad chest. She was engulfed by the warmth of his body and the sweet scent of his skin. He was slowly rubbing against her, and Felicity lifted her leg, wrapping one leg around his hip to open herself up to him and gain more friction.

Oliver moaned into the kiss, moving even closer to her. He rubbed his semi-erect cock against the already damp fabric of her panties. When he rubbed against her sensitive clit, Felicity angled her hips and pressed herself even closer to him. Her hand let go of his cheek and moved to his back where her other hand was holding her small purse. She opened it and rummaged around in it for her keys.

Saying that it was hard would be an understatement. She felt her need growing each time Oliver rubbed against her. She really didn’t want to continue with the foreplay here where all of her neighbors could watch even though she doubted any of them were actually awake at this time. Felicity groaned when she seemed to be unable to find her keys.

Oliver chuckled against her lips and pulled away just long enough to ask, “Need help?”

She didn’t get the chance to answer because the next moment his lips were already back on hers. His tongue opened her lips to him, so it could slip into her mouth and stroke against tongue. Felicity moaned, her back arching off the door and her stomach pressing more to his.

“You’re distracting me,” Felicity mumbled against his lips.

Again Oliver chuckled. “I could apologize, but that would be a lie.”

When Oliver deepened the kiss, angling her face in the process, Felicity moaned. If he continued like this they would never make it inside. She wanted to get inside, though, and it was for more reasons than just not wanting to be seen by her neighbors. She just wanted more from this night than a quick release like it had been when they had met all these times before. She wanted to really explore his body, licking the thick veins on his arms like she had imagined all these times she had seen them.

She gave everything she had into the kiss, even sliding a hand into his hair to pull him closer to her. Only when the need for air grew too much for her to take Felicity put her head back, so Oliver’s lips fell off from hers. He moved them down her jaw and chin to the side of her neck, licking and sucking there. Continuing to grind her hips against his, Felicity looked over his shoulder to her hands and purse on his back. His lips on her skin were still distracting, but at least she was able to use her view to finally grab a hold on her keys.

“Thank god!”

The whispered words had been meant to be heard only for her, but Oliver’s chuckle against her neck revealed that he had heard it too. He leaned back little, looking at her with a glint of amusement in his eyes.

“Got the keys?” Oliver asked.

Felicity rattled her keys in front of his eyes with a triumphant smile on her lips. Loosening her leg from around his hip, she kissed Oliver once more. When he was about to deepen the kiss, Felicity pushed him away from her, though, and quickly turned her back to him, so she was facing the door. She was about to unlock it when Oliver’s arms circled her waist from behind and pulled her back against his strong chest. He ducked his head, kissing the side of her neck, and Felicity sighed.

“If you continue like this, we will never make inside,” she said.

Her breathing faltered when Oliver rubbed his erection against her behind while sucking at her pulse point.

“Well, it’s a good thing it’s not that cold then,” Oliver replied, and Felicity could feel his lips widening to a smile.

Felicity chuckled, still trying to get the key into the lock without success. “Oliver!”

Chuckling, he loosened one arm from around her. He didn’t lift his head from where it was resting against her shoulder, his lips still caressing the crook of her neck, to put his fingers around her hand and unerringly direct it to the lock. Felicity almost rolled her eyes when he turned the key in the lock and opened the door.

“Braggart,” Felicity mumbled.

Oliver gently bit down on her neck in response, making Felicity moan. She quickly grabbed his hand on her stomach and pulled at it to make sure he was following her when she stepped into her home. As soon as they were inside, she turned back around in his arms, so her chest was pressing to his. She took a step forward, so Oliver’s back hit the door, making it fall shut. She straightened up onto her toes, letting her purse and keys fall to the floor, and kissed him hungrily. Her hands moved from his shoulders down his chest, exploring the muscles beneath his shirt.

“I think you forgot your jacket in the cab,” Felicity said with a chuckle.

Oliver looked down on him, obviously only now realizing that he was indeed just wearing his shirt but no jacket. He frowned, his face showing amusement, when he looked at her. “I think I was distracted.”

“I could apologize, but that would be a lie,” Felicity repeated the answer she had gotten when she had blamed him for distracting her.

While they were just smiling at each other for a long moment, silence settled. Felicity took in a deep breath, enjoying the feeling of Oliver’s warm hands moving up and down her sides slowly. Sighing, Felicity leaned against him, her hands resting on his biceps, feeling the strong muscles under the shirt. They stayed like that, just looking at each other.

Then Oliver leaned down slowly. He lowered his head and brushed his lips against hers shortly before pulling back enough, so Felicity had to straighten up on her toes when she wanted to kiss him. She slid her arms around his neck, her body melting against his. The kiss didn’t miss the hunger and passion of their kisses before, but it was much slower, acknowledging a change in both of their moods.

Felicity moved her fingers to Oliver’s front, starting to unbutton his shirt. She tugged the fabric out from the waistband of his pants, so she could unbutton it completely. Her fingertips grazed over his well-defined abs when she lifted her hands back to his shoulders. She gripped his shirt there and pulled it off from his body, letting it drop to the floor. Without any hesitation Felicity put her hands to the warm skin of his shoulders and moved them down his chest, exploring his naked skin for the first time. She could feel the hard muscles that were covered by the soft skin, but she also didn’t miss the rough scar tissues that spread over his chest.

When their lips parted, she nuzzled his nose for a moment. Then she brushed her lips against his once more, only shortly for a chaste contact. She leaned her head back a little, so she could look at Oliver, but she stayed on the tip of her toes, pressed against him tightly. Their eyes locked while Felicity was continuing to move her fingers over Oliver’s chest, making out the scars and brushing her fingertips against them gently. She didn’t need to say the words for Oliver to understand the question she was asking. She wanted to take a look at his body. He gulped and took in a deep breath, but he nodded.

Felicity pressed her lips to his for a lingering kiss, massaging the back of his head with one hand. She knew it couldn’t be easy for him to let her see him. He had told her that some women had turned him down because of the scars. Felicity wasn’t afraid that this would happen to her. There was more than just Oliver’s body that turned her on, and no imperfection his body could show would take away from that.

She took a little step back before she lowered her eyes. She took in his broad shoulders and muscular chest. His abs looked just as well-defined as they had felt. She moved her hands over his chest, her gaze following the movements. Once she had fully taken in his front, she stepped back closer to him and moved her hands over his back, exploring the scarred skin there. It was more than the scar low on his back that she had felt before.

“Was all of this the results of motorcycle accidents?” Felicity asked in a whisper, locking eyes with Oliver again.

Oliver shook his head slightly. “Since I didn’t dance in clubs, I had a lot of time to get into trouble otherwise.”

Felicity bit down on her lower lip, nodding slightly. She knew what he meant or at least she thought she knew what he meant. Her fingertips moved over the long scar at the side of his body. It looked like someone had stabbed him even if the wound probably hadn’t been deep.

“Bad?” Oliver asked.

He didn’t need to ask the full question for Felicity to understand what he meant. She smiled, her eyes still locked on his, and slowly leaned forward to brush her lips against a scar on his shoulder. Oliver took in a deep breath, closing his eyes, so Felicity pressed herself back closer to him, bending her arms around his torso and slowly moving her lips over his skin.

Oliver leaned his head against hers. His hands moved from her hips up her back, pulling her closer to him. When his fingers took hold of the zipper at the back of her dress, Felicity leaned her head back to look at Oliver. He hesitated, his eyes looking for her approval, and Felicity nodded her head. Ever so slowly Oliver lowered the zipper before moving his fingertips over the revealed skin to her shoulders, so he could push the straps of the dress down her shoulders. Felicity took a step back to allow the dress to fall to the floor, leaving her in only red lace panties.

Moving his fingertips down her arms, Oliver lowered his eyes over her body to take her in. Goosebumps followed the path his gaze took on her skin, and when Oliver licked his lips, her breathing faltered. Felicity wasn’t exactly not confident about her body, but she wasn’t particularly confident about it either. Being taken in like this had always felt awkward, especially when she was naked, but right now she didn’t feel any awkwardness. Instead there was a wonderful tension between them that was caused by a thrill of anticipation.

Oliver lifted his gaze back to her face, giving her a warm smile. “You’re beautiful.”

Felicity straightened back up onto her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around Oliver’s neck, kissing him. Her breasts pressed against his chest, her nipples hardening. He slowly bent down and moved his hands to the back of her knees, holding onto them tightly. Felicity got the hint and held onto him, so he could easily lift her from the floor. Her legs wrapped around his hips, her ankles locking against his butt. Not breaking the kiss, Oliver walked them to her bedroom. Felicity slipped out of her shoes, kicking them to the floor in the meantime.

Once they were in the bedroom, Oliver set her back down on the floor. Felicity slid her hands down his chest and abs to the waistband of his pants. Without any hesitation she unbuckled his belt and unbuttoned his pants, pushing the fabric down until it pooled around his ankles. Oliver slipped out of his shoes and kicked the pants away before pulling Felicity back against him, almost crushing her against his chest.

When he wanted to walk her backwards this time, Felicity let him. The back of her knees hit the edge of the mattress, so she broke the kiss to sit down and then slid into the middle of the bed, lying down. Oliver watched her, taking in her body spread out like this for him. His eyes were almost black by now, filled with desire and hunger for her.

Felicity held out a hand for him and Oliver took it with a smile, lacing his fingers through hers. He crawled onto the bed, kneeling at the edge of the mattress between her spread legs. He lowered his head to her leg and kissed her knee. Squeezing her hand he moved his lips up her leg to her hip. His tongue traced the waistband of her panties, and Felicity’s back arched off the mattress in response, pressing herself against Oliver’s tongue. Her hands moved into his hair, massaging the back of his head, while her legs circled his waist.

Oliver’s lips moved higher on her body. He kissed, licked and nibbled the soft skin of her stomach and Felicity sighed contently. She felt caressed by Oliver in a way she had never felt caressed before. His lips moved slowly and gently. His nose dipped into her belly button followed by his tongue. Felicity released a strangled sound, a mixture of a moan and a chuckle.

Oliver rested his chin on her lower stomach, rubbing his stubble against her skin. His fingers moved over her side lightly, making her laugh. “Ticklish?”

“Me? No,” Felicity replied.

“Oh really?” Oliver asked, a challenging look in his eyes. Before she got the chance to answer, Oliver started tickling her even more.

“No! No! No!” Felicity laughed, kicking her legs and trying to wriggle out of his touch, but Oliver used his body to keep her caged between him and the mattress. “Okay, I am ticklish! I am ticklish!”

Oliver stopped, his lips hovering right over hers. Their eyes locked. Oliver’s hands stroked over the outside of Felicity’s thighs while she was stroking her fingers over his back lazily. The atmosphere changed from playful to tense in an instant. Oliver lowered his lips and kissed her, his tongue stroking into her mouth and against hers. Felicity moaned into the kiss, pressing herself closer to him.

When Felicity pressed her thigh against the outside of his leg, Oliver rolled them around, so he was sitting on the mattress with Felicity in his lap. She thrust down on him, feeling his erection hardening even more in his black boxers. She was tempted to just continue like this, kissing him and rubbing against him, but she had turned them for a reason.

Sighing into the kiss, Felicity put her hands to Oliver’s shoulders and started pushing, so Oliver was lying down. His hips still moved against hers, his hands encouraging her movements on top of him. His eyes were on her intensly, watching her. Felicity felt a comfortable shiver running down the length of her spine and a pleasant prickling in her stomach at the way he looked at her. She winked at him before lowering her upper body onto him.

Her lips made contact with his shoulder, brushing against the warm skin there. Her fingers laced through his while her lips were moving lower on his chest. She licked his abs, enjoying the sound it elicited from him. He released that dark growl from deep in his chest that she loved hearing so much. She smiled against his stomach for a moment before she moved her lips to the scar there, nibbling it gently.

“God, Felicity,” Oliver groaned, his hips thrusting up against her chest while his hands squeezed hers.

She moaned against his skin at the way he said her name. The sound seemed to send a jolt of pleasure right through her core. She lightly scratched the skin over his heart, feeling it beating against her fingertips quickly. Her lips worked their way farther down his chest to his hips. She grabbed his hand that was resting on the mattress and moved it a little farther away from his body, so his arm was fully stretched out, the thick vein that led across his forearm perfectly on display.

Felicity looked at Oliver with a smile, finding his gaze already on her. He was observing each of her moves, and Felicity felt herself getting wetter at the thought. Still smiling at him, she lowered her head to his forearm and pressed a kiss to the spot where the vein started showing. Her eyes stayed on his when her lips traced the path of the vein up his arm. Her tongue darted out to lick over his soft skin. It was what she had been fantasizing of since she had seen these veins awhile ago. It felt even better than she had imagined. Tracing that vein all the way up to his arm made her rub more firmly against his hips.

Her lips moved up to his shoulder and over the side of his neck and cheek to his lips. Instead of kissing him, she just hovered over him, though. Her hips grinded down on his firmly, and her panties were completely damp from her arousal by now. Her hands stroked over his cheeks slowly, watching him.

Oliver smiled at her and rolled them over, so Felicity’s back pressed into the mattress. He leaned down and kissed her gently, their tongues moving in synch. His hips thrust against hers, his movements making his erection pressed against her core and allowing for delicious friction. Heat pooled in the pit of her stomach, shortening her breath and quickening her heartbeat.

When the need for breath grew too much for her, Felicity broke the kiss, bending her head back. She was panting loudly.

“Oliver,” she whispered breathily, “please.”

Oliver lifted his head from the side of her neck where he had been sucking at her skin. He looked at her intensely. He was breathing heavily, his body pressing into hers with every intake of breath. Still looking at her hungrily, he nodded his head and licked his lips. He sat down on his heels between her spread legs and moved his hands from her knees up her legs to her hips. He hooked his fingers into her panties and pulled them down her legs, his eyes never leaving hers.

When he crawled out of bed and took off his boxer briefs, Felicity eyed him up in all his glorious nakedness. He was so unbelievably hot. Seeing him just standing there and moving his hand through his short hair already increased the heat that pooled in her stomach. The way he looked at her with warm eyes and an expression full of desire elicited feelings inside of her that Felicity was unable to describe.

“Condoms are in the topmost drawer,” Felicity told him, nodding towards her nightstand.

Oliver nodded, walking around the bed. He stopped in front of the nightstand and reached out his hand. Instead of opening it he looked at her and asked, “May I?”

Felicity smiled, feeling weirdly touched by the fact that he asked. “Sure.”

He opened the drawer, pulled out one of the foil packages and closed the drawer again. He was about to rip open the foil package, but in a spontaneous move Felicity took is from him. Oliver perked up an eyebrow in question, but Felicity only grinned and ripped it open with her teeth. Oliver licked his lips, sitting down on the edge of the mattress, and Felicity slid closer to him, so she could take hold of his cock. He was warm and hard in her hand. She squeezed him twice and swirled her thumb over the thick head, making Oliver hiss, before she roll the latex down on him.

Oliver leaned down and pressed his lips to hers in a hungry kiss that quickly made her long for more. She moved her fingers into his hair and pulled her down with him, so he was lying on top of her with her legs circling his waist. His length moved between her folds, sliding from her entrance all the way up to her clit, while he was watching her reaction intensely. Felicity resisted the urge to close her eyes and kept looking at him instead.

They way he looked at her… Felicity doubted any other man had ever looked at her like that. She had never felt this wanted and this desired in her life. Maybe it was because she was feeling more comfortable in her own skin than she had ever done before. Maybe it was because Oliver knew how to look at a woman like that. Or maybe it was just because it was true and he really wanted her and really desired her.

Felicity moved her hand between their bodies to take hold of his cock. She positioned him at her entrance, locking eyes with Oliver. When she gave him a short nod of her head, he moved his hip forward and slowly filled her. Felicity held onto his shoulders, her nails digging into his skin while he was filling her ever so slowly. He only stopped when he was in to the hilt, his pelvis pressing to hers firmly. Their eyes locked, but neither of the moved. For a long moment they were just looking at each other, sharing the quiet and closeness of the moment.

Smiling down at her gently, Oliver bent his arms next to her head and lowered his lips to hers. He pressed his lips to hers and swiped his tongue over her bottom lip. Felicity opened up to him without any hesitation, moaning at the taste of his tongue. Her hands slipped into his short hair, cradling his head against hers.

Slowly Oliver started moving. He pulled out without any hurry only to thrust back in even more slowly. As maddening as the slow pace was, Felicity adjusted her movements to it. She angled her hips in time with his thrusts, making sure only the tip of his cock remained in her before he thrust back in and buried himself into her to the hilt. When he rubbed his pelvis against her clit, increasing the friction, she moaned into their passionate kiss. He took her hands and laced their fingers on the mattress next to her head.

As her pleasure was increasing, Felicity’s back arched off the mattress. Her hard nipples pressed against his naked chest, rubbing against his soft skin. The rough scar tissues scratched her skin lightly. It almost felt as good as having his lips closer around the sensitive skin and sucking. She preferred his lips on hers like they were right now anyway, though.

Her whole body felt like it was burning. His touch on her sensitive skin kindled a fire inside of her that spread through her veins until every cell of her body was filled with it. Her toes were curling, and Felicity moved her feet to the mattress, so che could dig her heels into it to give her more leverage when she was moving against him.

Their movements sped up more and more. Oliver’s thrusts grew shorter and quicker. His hips slapped against hers hard. In the short moment that he broke the kiss to nuzzle her nose with his, he was panting heavily and so was she.

“Felicity,” Oliver whispered, and her intuition told her that he was close.

She squeezed her inner walls around him, and with the low grumble she loved hearing so much Oliver dropped his forehead to her chest. Felicity’s back arched off the mattress even more, pressing more firmly against his hard torso. While Oliver started peppering her chest with kisses, Felicity circled his body with her legs even more tightly than she had before. Her heels dug into his butt whenever she pressed herself against him, lifting her hips off the bed to make him slide into her even deeper.

Oliver’s lips moved from her chest over the side of her neck back to her lips. He kissed her hungrily, putting so much passion into his kiss that Felicity felt her heart stumbling in her chest. The heat that had pooled inside of her seemed to increase more and more. She knew it wasn’t long until she would come. She squeezed Oliver’s hand, wordlessly telling him that she was close. He parted their lips, just looking at her.

Felicity sucked in a deep breath, but it didn’t seem to satisfy her need for oxygen as her lungs were still burning painfully. She was unable to release the breath or take in a new one, though. Her lungs continued to feel like they were burning. Her whole chest was on that thin line between pleasure and pain.

She concentrated on Oliver. The expression in his blue eyes had gained even more intensity. He was looking at her like she was a drug that he was unable to resist. His breathing had quickened even more. His panting was so loud that it almost reached through to her over the loud rushing of blood in her ears. His movements were quick and almost uncontrolled, but he still managed to hit just the right spots inside of her.

Her hands tightened around his fingers as soon as she felt the tingling starting in the tip of her toes. She licked her lips, forcing just enough air into her lungs, so she could chant in a whisper, “Yes, yes, yes. Oliver!”

His name fell from her lips in an almost desperate tone while the pleasure spread through her veins. Her back arched off the bed completely, her body pressing against his firmly. She had no idea how she managed to keep her eyes open, but she did. When her limbs grew numb from the bliss that filled her body, she stopped moving.

Her eyes still watched Oliver, though, watching intensely as he was thrusting in and out of her quickly, seeking his own release. His eyes were glazed, his pupils blown wide and the usual blue of his eyes almost black by now. He was panting heavily. His thrusts grew shorter and sloppier until he buried himself deep inside of her one last time and came with a grunt. His cock jerked inside of her, stimulating her sensitive walls, and she felt them clenching down on him tightly as another small orgasm rushed through her.

“God, Felicity,” Oliver whispered her name, his body sinking down onto hers. He rested his head on top of her breasts, his breathing still erratic. She could feel their heart beating wildly, stumbling from time to time until they were beating in union. Felicity’s legs were still wrapped around his hips, cradling Oliver to her. Their hands held onto each other tightly.

For a long time the air was just filled with their heavy breathings. They tried to catch their breaths, but at least for Felicity it felt impossible. Her lungs were still burning, her body demanding more and more oxygen. With Oliver’s heavy weight on her it seemed even more difficult to fill her lungs with air, but she didn’t want him to move. She felt comfortable being embraced in the warmth of his body.

Once their breathings had at least partly calmed down, Oliver propped himself up on his forearm. He looked at her with warm eyes, a small smile on his lip. Slowly his right hand loosened around her fingers, and he gently stroked his knuckles over her cheek. Felicity turned her head, kissing his thumb, before she looked back at Oliver and smiled at him. Her free hand moved up and down his back lazily, eliciting goosebumps on his skin.

Oliver leaned down and kissed her. His lips brushed against hers before they pressed down more firmly. His tongue slipped into her mouth, stroking against her own tongue. Felicity sighed into the kiss, responding to it with the same lazy passion he put into it. When their lips parted, he nuzzled her nose shortly and pressed another chaste kiss to her lips.

“I’ll be right back,” he whispered against her lips.

Felicity opened her eyes, about to ask him where he was going. He slipped out of her sensitive core, though, and whatever words there had been on her tongue died and turned into a moan instead. Oliver squeezed her hand apologetically before he crawled out of bed.

“Can I-?” Oliver asked, pointing at the open door to the bathroom.

“Sure,” Felicity replied.

“Thanks,” Oliver said with a smile and disappeared into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

Sighing, Felicity stretched out her arms and legs. She was feeling deliciously sore and relaxed. She licked her lips, still tasting Oliver’s lips and tongue on them. With a content smile on her lips, she closed her eyes, enjoying the memory of what had just happened. Thinking about how Oliver’s naked body had felt moving against her bare skin while his lips had been exploring the inside of her mouth made her skin prickle.

Tonight had felt different from the other times they had had sex. It had been about more than just pleasure. They had taken their time and explored each other’s body without any hurry. There had been more between Oliver and her. She didn’t know what it was, but something had changed between them. Maybe it was just because she knew more about him now, and he wasn’t just the escort she had hired. He was a friend that had shared stories about his childhood and youth with her. Or maybe there was something else?

“Hey, why the frown?”

Felicity chuckled, opening her eyes and turning her head to where Oliver was standing in the door frame. He had his arms crossed in front of his chest, looking at her with a smile. He didn’t seem to bother that he was still completely naked, but to be honest Felicity didn’t bother much either, especially since she herself was still lying naked on the sheets of her bed too.

“Thinking about work,” Felicity lied.

Oliver perked up an eyebrow. “Not relaxed yet?”

Again Felicity chuckled, holding out her hands in front of her defensively. “Oh, don’t worry. I am perfectly relaxed. The thought is already gone.”

“Good,” Oliver replied with a smile. He sat down on the edge of the mattress and held out a wet washcloth for her. “I thought maybe you want me to-“

“Oh, I’ll do that,” Felicity quickly replied, sitting up and taking the washcloth from him. She wiped the remaining of her juices off her thighs. She knew Oliver was watching her, and it made a light blush form on her cheeks, but it wasn’t bad.

As soon as her thighs were cleaned up, she threw the washcloth on the floor and slipped under the blanket. She didn’t question when Oliver did the same and lay down on the mattress next to her, pulling the blanket over his body. Felicity just snuggled closer to him, pressing her body close to his chest, and Oliver circled her waist with his arm, keeping her just as close.

For a long moment they just looked at each other. Oliver’s hand moved over her lower back while Felicity was stroking a scar high on his chest. Neither of them said a word. They just enjoyed the quiet intimacy that had settled between them.

When Oliver started moving, ducking his head to bring his lips closer to her, Felicity met him halfway. They kissed gently. Their tongues moved against each other’s almost lazily. When their lips parted, Felicity sighed and rested her head under his chin. She pushed her nose against his skin and breathed in the sweet scent of his skin.

“Thanks for making this evening better,” Felicity whispered, almost half asleep.

“Always,” Oliver whispered back, kissing the top of her head.

Felicity smiled against his neck, releasing a deep breath. She knew that eventually she would have to face the exact meaning of what was going on between her and Oliver. The way she was feeling about him and feeling about being with him was not how she was supposed to feel. She couldn’t ignore or deny those feelings. They were there, and they had made her cross yet another line with Oliver tonight. They had crossed the line from being escort and client awhile ago when they had decided to become friends, but were they really just friends now? Were they something else? Maybe even something more? Or was she just projecting the feelings that had started building inside of her on him now? Was he just a good escort and friend, while for her the line between those blurred more and more whenever they met again?

The thought almost scared her. She had been supposed to be in control of everything that happened between them, but she felt that control slipping away from between her fingers. So what did that mean? What did that say about her or about them?

Felicity didn’t know, but she knew that tonight was not the night to figure that out. Maybe tomorrow, she added in her thoughts and yawned just before she fell asleep, still pressed against Oliver tightly.


	7. Chapter 7

Felicity woke up with a quiet sigh falling from her lips. She tried to open her eyes to take a look at the clock on her nightstand and check if it was already time for her to get up, but her lids felt too heavy. Pulling the blanket a little higher on her body, she was about to roll over onto her other side when she noticed the comforting weight of a strong arm loosely wrapped around her waist.

It took only the beat of a second for the memories to come back to her. She remembered her boring date with Ray Palmer as well as meeting Oliver in the club and how relieved she had felt to see him there. She remembered talking and dancing with him, all the while feeling drawn to him and his lips. She remembered the tension there had been right before they had kissed and the way her skin had tingled when their lips had finally met in a first kiss. She remembered taking him home to her and having slow, gentle sex with him. If the delicious soreness in her body was any indication, her muscles remembered it too.

Biting down on her bottom lip, Felicity leaned her head forward and pressed her nose against his shoulder. Oliver tightened his arm around her immediately. He pulled her close, so her body was pressed against his tightly. She could feel his muscular body against her much smaller form. His morning wood pressed against her lower stomach, sparking her imagination of what they could do. Even thinking about it made wetness pool between her legs.

Careful not to bump against his chin that rested on the pillow right over her head, Felicity leaned her head back a little. She didn’t leave Oliver’s warm embrace, just angled her head back enough, so she could look at him. He was still fast asleep, his face relaxed and his breathing even. Felicity was tempted to reach out her hand and stroke her fingers over his stubble, but she stopped herself. She didn’t want to wake him just yet.

She had kissed Oliver she suddenly realized and had to bite her tongue to keep herself from sighing out loud. When she had started hiring Oliver, she had set up so many boundaries. Now they seemed to be all broken down, and Felicity was relieved about that in a lot of ways, but it also scared her. The boundaries were supposed to be thick walls that protected her from the emotional danger that hiring someone for sex brought with it. She had broken down those walls, though, and now she was unprotected and vulnerable. As good and content as she felt lying here in Oliver’s arms, she had no idea how he felt about her, and that scared the hell out of her.

Felicity bit down on her bottom lip, sucking in a deep breath. There was no way of denying that she had developed certain feelings for Oliver. She didn’t exactly know how to categorize those feelings, but she knew she had some for him. Maybe with a little time they would just go away once her body would be able to separate between sex and feelings, but she actually doubted it. She wasn’t just feelings things for Oliver when they had sex. She also had feelings for him when they were just talking. Maybe it was just the feeling of winning a new good friend or maybe it was something else. Felicity just didn’t know.

Now what was she supposed to do? She knew that keeping silent and just continuing like there had been no shift between them was most likely going to leave her heartbroken. The most reasonable way to deal with this was probably talking to Oliver about whether he saw last night as part of his job, a friendly turn or maybe more than that. She just wasn’t ready to let go of him and face the void that he would leave if he decided to end their arrangement.

Why has this become so complicated? She started this because she thought it was going to be easy. Since she really didn’t have time for a relationship, she thought this was a nice alternative. It had been supposed to be so easy. Now it seemed even more complicated than trying to start a relationship would have been.

When Oliver breathed out with a low sigh, Felicity smiled. She pushed her head back under his chin, and Oliver welcomed her by pressing a sleepy kiss to her hair. Part of her wished they had met under different circumstances. Maybe it would be easier that way. On the other hand of course there was no guarantee that they had gotten to know each other like they had now if the circumstances had been different.

Felicity had never been a person for what-ifs. She felt like there was no sense in losing yourself in the thought of what could have been or should have been because it wouldn’t change the reality. Yet she wondered what would have been if-

The jarring sound of her alarm going off pulled her from her thoughts abruptly. Oliver groaned, pushing his face into the pillow while tightening his arm around her waist to pull her closer to him. Felicity had trouble to move, but she eventually managed to prop herself up onto her forearm and reach over Oliver to her nightstand. She quickly turned off the alarm.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered when she lay back down. Her hand stroked over his naked back lazily while Oliver was burying his face against her chest, pressing chaste kisses to the top of her breasts. “Just go back to sleep.”

Oliver released a low sigh, snuggling his cheek to her chest. His stubble scratched and tickled her tender skin in the most delicious way. His warm breath left goosebumps where it ghosted over her skin. Felicity made herself comfortable, easily melting against Oliver’s warm body. With the change of position from before his cock was now resting against her thigh. She knew she just had to put one leg around Oliver’s hip to have him where she was already longing for him to fill her, but Oliver seemed to be almost back to asleep already. That was why Felicity just continued to stroke her hand from the nape of Oliver’s neck down to his lower back and up again.

Humming contently, Oliver pressed a kiss to Felicity’s collarbone before he whispered against her skin, “How late is it?”

“Five-thirty,” Felicity whispered.

When Oliver groaned loudly in response, Felicity chuckled. She kissed his temple, moving her fingers through his short hair. Oliver tightened his arm around her, pushing the other arm under her body to wrap around her waist too. He was holding her impossibly close. Felicity could even feel his heartbeat against her ribs, and she enjoyed the feeling.

“Does this happen to you often?” Oliver asked.

He nuzzled the top of her chest. When his nose lowered to the valley between her breasts, Felicity cradled his head to her. She closed her eyes with a sigh, trying to get closer to him, but she was already as close as she could get to him.

“Does what happen to me often?” Felicity asked eventually.

“That you forget to switch off the alarm for the weekend.”

Felicity chuckled. “I never switch off my alarm.”

Oliver bent his head back to look at her so quickly that she immediately missed the warmth of his lips and breath against her skin. She looked at Oliver and bit down on her bottom lip at the way he looked at her with still tired eyes.

“Really?” He asked. “You get out of bed at five-thirty at weekends?”

Felicity shrugged her shoulders. “I have a lot of work.”

Oliver frowned. He loosened one arm from around her to brush his fingers against her cheek. Felicity felt a blush spreading on her face and down her neck to her chest. Oliver watched her intensely, never stopping to caress her cheek. She felt the urge to avoid his eyes, but she managed to keep her eyes on his, no matter how intense his gaze felt on her skin.

“Why are you so hard on yourself with that?” Oliver asked. “I know that you love your job, and I understand that you feel responsible for all the people that work for you, but what good is it when you are knocking yourself out with all the stress you burden yourself with? I mean… I can feel the tight knots in your shoulders and back. I can almost hear the cogs working in your brain all the time. You barely ever relax. That’s not healthy. You know that. So why risk your health and hence your ability to keep working? Isn’t it better that the company progresses slowly and in a way that you don’t burn yourself out? Who is going to lead this company and make it better when you stress yourself out and are unable to work anymore? If you take your time and give yourself a break, at least the company isn’t going to lose you. Right?”

Felicity opened her lips in an attempt to answer, but she figured that she had no idea what to respond to that. She knew that she was pushing herself too much and she was exhausting herself too much. She demanded high standards from everyone but especially from herself. She was stressing herself out with all of that, but she couldn’t help it.

She lowered her gaze, focusing on the small scar high on the right side of his chest. The tips of her fingers traced the rough scar tissue. She could feel his gaze on her skin, but she couldn’t get herself to look at him again already. Instead she watched her fingers lazily moving over his skin.

“If I don’t give my best, I might fail,” she eventually whispered, still not looking at Oliver. “I can’t fail at this…”

What would happen if she failed this company? The world certainly wouldn’t go down. The company probably wouldn’t get shut down and people wouldn’t lose their jobs. If the many threats she had been faced with were any indication, there were a lot of other people willing to run the company if she stepped down. They might have other plans for the company, but they would probably keep it alive. They would just consolidate it with one of the other tech companies. Eventually some people would still lose their jobs, but it wouldn’t be all of them.

Her fear of failure had little to do with the company or the people that worked for her. Of course they were a part of it, but first and foremost this was about her. This was about her fear and her insecurity and her need to prove to herself that she could do this. She could be great no matter what other people especially her father might have thought.

“I just need to prove to myself that I can do this,” Felicity whispered.

Oliver moved his fingertips from the soft skin right under her ear down over her jaw to her chin. He bent her head back, so Felicity was looking at him. When their eyes met, Felicity saw the intense expression in Oliver’s eyes and felt her heart skip a beat. There was no reproach or amusement in his eyes like she had seen it when she had told others of her efforts. There was just understanding and compassion.

“Felicity, I have been with you when you met other business people, and they respect you,” Oliver told her. “You wouldn’t have earned their respect if you weren’t good at your job. Trust me when I tell you that I am sure you are not failing the company. You are doing great. I am sure my parents would have been happy to see the company in your hands.”

Felicity pressed her lips together for a short moment before she smiled half-heartedly. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?” Oliver asked with a frown, stroking his thumb over her chin.

“I probably shouldn’t have started talking about the company. It’s part of your parents’ legacy and-“

“Like I said, I am really sure they would have been happy to have seen it in your hands,” Oliver told her. “At least you are trying to keep jobs and make a change with inventions instead of only looking for your own profit.”

She smiled warmly at him. “Thank you for listening.”

“Always,” Oliver replied. “If there is something bothering you, I am always here to listen and offer support or even help if I can. And you never have to thank me for that.”

Felicity felt the heavy weight of his words sinking into her chest. She felt like someone was holding her heart in a tight grip, keeping it from beating as wildly as it wanted. She sucked in a deep breath, feeling her lungs burning slightly with the struggle. Oliver’s words in combination with the intense expression in his eyes made her question once more what there was between them.

She was looking at him intensely, eyeing him up. Her head seemed to slowly get overtaken by the butterflies that spread from her stomach through her entire body, trying to cover the feeling of insecurity Felicity still had about what was happening here between them with the feeling of euphoria or whatever to call it. There still was a nagging voice inside of her head, reminding her over and over again that she really shouldn’t trust that feeling, though.

She frowned. “Oliver, what-“

Oliver didn’t let her finish. He closed the distance between their lips, kissing her. He wasted no time and deepened the kiss. His hand moved from her cheek to the back of her neck. He angled her head back to give him a better access to slip his tongue into her mouth. His body pressed closer to hers, his hard length moving against her hip. Felicity moaned into the kiss, eagerly stroking her tongue against his. She was about to move her fingers into the short hair at the nape of Oliver’s neck when a new beeping sound caused Oliver to pull away from her with a groan.

“Really?” he asked with a deep frown. Felicity chuckled and reached over him to turn off the second alarm too. She felt Oliver’s breath on her nipples and knew they were hardening in response. When she lay back down, Oliver perked up his eyebrows, asking, “So you have two alarms set for the weekends, so in case you don’t want to get up with the first alarm, the second one will make sure of that?”

Again Felicity chuckled. “Actually the second alarm is to remind me that maybe I could take some time for morning fitness. You know a few sit-ups each weekend won’t hurt. I am still far away from this,” she added, stroking her fingertips down Oliver’s abs, “but at least I am in… acceptable form… I think…”

Oliver licked his lips, his gaze wandering down her naked body. “I think I should check how acceptable your form is.”

“Haven’t you checked that a few times already?”

“Not enough,” Oliver was quick to reply, grinning smugly.

Felicity perked up an eyebrow, a wide smile forming on her lips already. “Oh, really?”

“Mhm,” Oliver hummed with a nod of his head, his eye glinting. “I think I could also help you with the morning fitness. I know some great exercises and do you want to know what’s the best about those exercises?”

“Tell me,” Felicity said with a smile.

“You don’t even have to get dressed,” he told her.

“Oh, that sounds like the kind of exercising I could enjoy.”

Oliver leaned forward once more, and they both smiled into the kiss. Once Oliver rolled Felicity onto her back, though, the smile faded and a moan escaped her lips. The butterflies took over her body once more, and she pushed away all the worries of before. Oliver was right after all. She needed to relax more to stay healthy, and Saturday felt like a good day to increase her health level by doing something she enjoyed and that relaxed her.

Once he had kissed her dizzy, Oliver moved his lips away from hers. He let them travel down her cheek and jaw to her neck. He peppered a path of kisses down the side of her neck, shortly staying at her pulse point to suck at it. He didn’t waste much time and continued his way down, his body moving further down the mattress in the process.

Oliver licked his way over the top of her chest to the valley of her breasts. Felicity’s back arched off the mattress, her stomach pressing to Oliver’s chest. When his lips left the path down her body to move to her right breasts, Felicity sighed and slid her hand into Oliver’s hair. While he kissed his way to her right nipple, his hand moved to her left breast to massage the flesh and pinch her nipple.

“God, yes,” Felicity moaned and as soon as Oliver’s lips closed around her right nipple, her body pressed against him even more tightly. “Oh, yes.”

Oliver moved his flat tongue against her nipple over and over again while he rolled the other nipple between his thumb and forefinger. He had her panting and squirming beneath him within seconds it seemed. Felicity was arching her back that much, trying to bring her breasts more into the touch of Oliver’s fingers and the warmth of his mouth, it almost hurt in her spine.

When Oliver sucked at her nipple, she let out a strangled moan. She could feel her pleasure increasing already. Wetness pooled between her legs that wrapped around his thighs loosely, giving her more leverage to move against him. She rubbed her clit against his abs, moaning at the delicious friction it allowed her.

Oliver’s teeth grazed the sensitive skin of her nipple, biting down. His teeth didn’t dug deep into her skin, but it was enough to make her hiss though she wasn’t sure if it was because of the pleasure or because of the stinging pain it caused. It didn’t matter, though, because Oliver immediately moved his tongue against her nipple again, soothing the pain.

He went back to teasing her nipples. He worked her up easily, using the knowledge he seemed to have about her body already to keep her on a high level of pleasure without ever allowing her to get the final push she would need to fall off the edge. It was as wonderfully maddening as it was frustrating. Soon it was the frustration that gained the upper hand, her skin was prickling almost painfully. The angle didn’t allow her to rub against him the way she wanted, and her inner walls clenched down on emptiness with a longing need to be filled.

“Oliver, please,” Felicity heard herself beg.

Oliver let go of her nipples, resting his chin on her breast instead. The tickling and even slightly scratchy feeling of his stubble on her skin felt great, but it didn’t even come anywhere near the pleasure she had felt with his lips and fingers teasing her nipples. Felicity looked down to him to see him smiling at her smugly, and she groaned, rolling her eyes.

“What do you want, Felicity?” Oliver asked.

“You know what I want,” Felicity replied. She moved her hand from the back of his head down his neck and shoulder towards his back, scratching his skin slightly, and Oliver growled lowly. She bit back a smile about the sound, and just repeated, “You know what I want.”

Oliver licked his lips, obviously considering what to say. She almost expected him to say that he wanted to hear her say it and for the beat of a second she wondered what she would respond to that. The shortest answer was probably  _ you _ , but Felicity feared that would come a little bit too close to the truth, a truth she wasn’t even able to fully admit to herself yet. So how was she supposed to say it out loud and not regret it later on?

Her worries disappeared, though, when Oliver lowered his lips back to her skin. He kissed his way down the right part of her chest, while his hand caressed her left side. His huge hands almost spanned over the complete left part of her ribcage since her body was so much smaller than his. The feeling of his rough hand on her tender skin made her sigh contently.

Oliver moved further down the mattress until he could settle between her spread legs. He lay down on the mattress there, moving his arms under her thighs to put her legs over his shoulders. He pulled her closer to his lips, so she could feel his warm breath against her most sensitive parts. The feeling made goosebumps spread down her chest, and she bit down on her bottom lip, but it didn’t do much to suppress the whimper that fell from her lips. Oliver rubbed his cheek against the inside of her thigh, scratching her tender skin. When her back arched off the mattress, Oliver put his forearms to her hips, though. He was strong enough to easily pin her to the bed, making it impossible for her to move.

His dark eyes locked with hers right before he blew a breath against her wet folds. Felicity moaned, digging her heels into his back to lift her hips and press her core to his mouth, but Oliver’s hold on her body was too firm. Oliver grinned smugly, blowing another breath against her folds, and Felicity groaned in frustration. Her hand came to grip his forearm, squeezing firmly.

“Oliver, please,” she repeated her pleading from before.

Oliver didn’t need to be asked twice. He leaned forward and closed his lips around her opening, sucking her juices into his mouth. Felicity wanted to sigh in relief to finally feel his lips where she longed for his touch the most, but instead a long moan escaped her lips. She pressed her thighs close to Oliver’s head, so he couldn’t move away even though Felicity didn’t get the feeling that he even wanted to move away. His stubble scratched the inside of her thighs in the most enjoyable way, and Felicity felt her eyes falling shut.

When Oliver released her entrance to lick a long path to her clit, circling it with the tip of his tongue, Felicity panted. Her hand moved into his hair, holding him to her. Her grip wasn’t strong enough to keep Oliver from lifting his lips from her clit a little too soon, though.

“Felicity,” he said with husky voice.

“Oliver, please,” Felicity just replied, trying to push his head back between her thighs, but Oliver wouldn’t let himself be moved.

“Felicity, look at me.”

The huskiness of his voice and the gently demanding tone made her open her eyes. Immediately she found his eyes, locking her gaze with his. Oliver’s eyes had turned even darker if that had been possible. They were almost black by now. Still panting, Felicity watched him licking his lips like he was savoring her taste. The sight made a low whimper fall from her lips, and she stroked her hand over his stubble.

“Keep looking at me,” Oliver requested.

Felicity didn’t trust her voice, so she just nodded her head. Only then Oliver lowered his lips back to her clit, closing his mouth around it. Moaning, Felicity bit down on her bottom lip, fighting the urge to close her eyes again. Instead she kept looking at Oliver, letting the hungry passion in his eyes make her body prickle from the roots of her hair to the tips of her toes.

Her pleasure increased quickly. She felt more and more wetness pooling between her legs. Her stomach tightened with pleasure. She felt heat forming high in her chest and increasing whenever Oliver moved the underside of his tongue against her sensitive clit.

“Oh, yes,” she moaned, her fingers gripping his hair even more firmly. “Yes, yes, yes, yes.”

For a split second her eyes drifted shut, but she felt Oliver’s teeth graze her clit, so she opened them again. Oliver smirked against her clit, and Felicity scratched his scalp in response. He moaned against her clit, the sound vibrating against the sensitive nub. Her heels dug even deeper into his back and her fingers tightened his hair even more.

“Oh god,” she moaned.

Oliver’s gaze on her face grew even more intense. He sucked at her clit and it was all Felicity needed to fall over the edge. The heat that had formed in her chest, spread through her veins, filling her entire body with a fire. She was barely breathing anymore as she was riding high on her wave of pleasure and once Oliver finally let go of her hips to let her move, Felicity started rolling them against his lips to prolong her orgasm.

While the last waves of pleasure ran through her body, Felicity finally allowed her eyes to close. Her hips’ movements became slower and lazier until they came to a complete stop. Her hand loosened from his hair, all her muscles relaxing, and she sank into the mattress with a content yet quite exhausted sigh.

“That was very good,” Felicity said.

Oliver chuckled. He kissed the inside of her thigh gently before he lifted her legs from his shoulders and moved up her body. His lips slid from her lower stomach over her chest and neck to her cheek, leaving a path of goosebumps on her skin. He rested his body down onto hers, his chest rubbing against her hard and sensitive nipples. He was staying propped up onto his forearms, though, keeping his weight away from her.

He nuzzled her nose gently, his lips only an inch away from hers. Felicity took in a deep breath that made her chest press more firmly against Oliver’s. She could feel his heart beating strongly, pounding in his chest. Within seconds her heart rate adjusted to his. Felicity circled his waist with her arms, stroking her hands up and down his back. His lips stayed hovering right over hers, but she didn’t close the distance to him yet. She just wanted to stay like this for a little while longer. She wanted to enjoy the feeling of being pressed so close to him, feeling their hearts beat in unison and breathing the same air as him.

When her lips started burning with the need to kiss him and she found herself unable to bare the anticipation of kissing him any longer, Felicity finally closed the distance between their lips. She brushed hers against his gently for a moment and then pressed them down more firmly. She traced his bottom lip with her tongue until he opened his lips to hers. She stroked her tongue into his mouth, starting a familiar dance with his. She could taste herself on his lips and moaned into the kiss in response.

Oliver’s fingers tangled in her hair, playing with some strands. It made Felicity smile, her lips still moving against his. She couldn’t deny how much she enjoyed this quiet laziness. It had been a long time since she had spent a morning in bed, doing nothing or at least nothing work related since the thin film of sweat on her body was definitely proof that she had done something since she had woke up.

When their lips parted, Oliver nuzzled her nose again. He pulled back enough to look at her and smiled in a way that immediately infected her. She smiled back at him, watching the intense expression on his face. The smile reached his eyes in a way she had barely ever seen. He never looked away from her, just looking at her without a word. Felicity started chuckling.

“What?”

“Nothing,” Oliver replied with a chuckle of his own.

Felicity cocked her head. “You are staring at me.”

Oliver kissed her mouth, his lips lingering against hers for a long moment. When he pulled back, he smiled at her again. “I just enjoy looking at you.”

Felicity sucked in a deep breath at how honest his words sounded, and she felt a blush spreading from her cheeks down her chest. Oliver’s gaze followed the path for a short moment, but he quickly locked eyes with her once more. His hand continued playing with her hair, his thumb stroking over her forehead. A warm shiver ran down her spine, and Felicity sighed contently.

“I think I like that you enjoy looking at me,” she said quietly, her voice barely louder than a whisper.

Oliver smiled, putting his hand to the top of her head. Felicity moved the tips of her fingers over his back, drawing lazy patterns on his skin. Soon Oliver lowered his lips to hers, though, kissing her passionately. His tongue begged for entrance to her mouth, and Felicity granted it willingly. She sighed into his mouth, tightening her arms around his waist to hold him close to her.

It didn’t take long for the relaxation she had felt after her first orgasm to turn back into burning passion and hunger. She pressed her right leg against Oliver’s firmly. He got the hint and rolled them around, so his body was resting on the mattress while Felicity was sitting in his lap.

His fingertips started drawing lazy patterns on her back like hers had before. Smiling, Felicity leaned down and kissed him, pressing her body to his, so his chest rubbed against her nipples. When his tongue traced her bottom lip to ask for entrance, Felicity broke the kiss, though. Her lips moved across his cheek to his jaw and from his jaw down his neck. She licked the vein that ran across the side of his neck, enjoying the sweet taste of his skin that mixed with the slightly salty taste of sweat.

Felicity felt the weird desire to leave a hickey on his neck as a reminder of last night together and their first morning together. She knew better than to leave any marks on his skin, though. Oliver wasn’t hers, and marking him as hers would be wrong. It would be a lie. Instead of giving into that desire she continued her path down his body to his collarbone, gently nibbling at the skin that covered it.

“Felicity,” Oliver almost hissed when she bit down just a little bit more firmly. His hands gripped her hips firmly, his fingers digging into her skin.

She smiled against his skin, stroking her hands down his chest and abs to his cock. While her lips moved further down his chest, she slid down the bed a little bit, so her hand could move low between their bodies. Her fingertips grazed his cock, and Oliver’s hips thrust up, trying to get more friction, but Felicity kept her touch light. Oliver released the low growl that shot a jolt of pleasure right to her core, and she groaned against his skin in response.

Continuing to move her fingers against his cock lightly, Felicity straddled his left leg, so she could sit down and slide back and forth. Her juices dripped onto his leg while she was using him to increase her pleasure. The touch of her hand against his erection stayed light, though, and she could feel the vibration of a frustrated groan rolling through his chest.

“Felicity, please,” he begged, and his fingers dug even deeper into her hips, probably leaving bruises. “Please.”

Felicity was almost fascinated by how much she enjoyed hearing Oliver beg like this. There was no denying that he enjoyed the teasing, as frustrated as he might feel about it at the same time. He squirmed under her, trying to get more friction of her hand moving against his cock and growled when it didn’t work.

“Felicity,” he pleaded once more, desperation in his voice.

Finally Felicity gave in. She took hold of the base of his cock. He was hot and hard in her hand, the skin covering him so soft at the same time. She started stroking up and down his shaft and tightened her hold on him for a moment before she moved her hand back down. Oliver thrust into her hand, panting.

She watched as his pleasure increased. His jaws were clenched, accentuating the strong line of his jaw. His eyes dark eyes full of hunger were on her face, watching her while she was watching him. The movements of Felicity’s hips rubbing against his thigh grew quicker. The friction against her clit combined with the intensity of his gaze and the feeling of his cock in her hand increased her pleasure. She was feeling herself getting closer and closer to the edge again, and if Oliver’s gaze was any indication, so was he.

Before she could feel the familiar tingling in her toes that would reveal that her orgasm was about to crash through her body, Oliver pulled her hand away from him and rolled them back around. He crashed his lips to hers, kissing her deeply. Felicity moaned into the kiss. She cradled his head to her, keeping him impossibly close. Her legs wrapped around his hips to feel him inside of her where her inner walls were already clenching down on emptiness, longing for him to fill her. When his cock slid between her wet fold, she moaned, her back arching off the mattress.

“Condom,” she panted against his lips.

Oliver didn’t need to be told twice. He quickly rolled himself off of her and sat down on the edge of the mattress. Part of her wondered how he would feel inside of her without any barrier between them just like she wondered what he would taste like, but she knew better than to try either of this. Now was not the time. Maybe the time was never.

Felicity pushed the thought away quickly, shaking her head.

“Everything alright?” Oliver asked with worry in his voice, stroking his knuckles over her cheek.

“Yeah,” Felicity replied quickly, smiling.

“Are you-“

Felicity sat up quickly, interrupting him with a firm kiss to his lips. She wanted to feel Oliver inside of her, and she wasn’t going to let the absurdity of this complicated situation ruin this morning for her. When she broke the kiss, Felicity turned to the nightstand to get a condom while Oliver’s lips caressed the side of her neck. His snuck one arm around her body and moved his fingers against her nipple. Felicity hummed, her head dropping back, and she could feel Oliver smile against the side of her neck.

Her free hand, the one that didn’t hold the condom, came to rest on top of his hand that was playing with her breast. She closed her eyes, enjoying the sensation. She hadn’t known how sensitive her breasts really were until Oliver had started caress them.

She was tempted to just give in and let Oliver take over control, but she had her own ideas in mind of how they should continue. Felicity reached out her hand for his lap and started stroking his cock once more. Oliver’s head dropped back with a growl that made Felicity smile. She loved that she seemed to have at least a little bit of control over him. That made her feel just a little bit better knowing how much control he had over her.

She ripped open the foil package of the condom with her teeth and took the latex out of it, carelessly discarding the package on the floor. Without any hesitation she tightened her hold on his erection and rolled the condom on him. She stroked him some more before she climbed onto his lap.

Oliver was about to kiss her, but Felicity kept right out of reach. Their lips couldn’t touch though they were just close enough to let Felicity anticipate how it would feel to have his lips move against hers once more. She stroked her fingers through his hair before her hands came to rest on his shoulders. She pushed him down gently until his upper body was resting on the mattress.

Slowly Felicity slid back and forth on his lap. Oliver’s cock moved between her folds without entering her. Putting her hand to his chest, she rocked against him, using him for her pleasure. Oliver’s hands rested on her hips in the meantime, encouraging her movements. Felicity watched him, feeling her heart clenching at the way he looked at her. She didn’t know how he did it to make her feel like this without even saying a word.

“Felicity,” he panted eventually.

She didn’t need to be told what he needed. She moved her hand between their bodies and positioned him at her entrance. Looking at Oliver, she sank down on him. Oliver’s cock filled her completely, stretching her inner walls and creating a delicious friction. Felicity stayed unmoving on top of him for a long moment, just looking at Oliver. He was breathing heavily through his mouth. His thumbs rubbed circles against her hip tenderly.

Felicity leaned down, and their lips met in a slow kiss. Their tongues moved against each other in a slow dance as if they hadn’t done anything else their entire life. Felicity sighed into the kiss, pressing her body closer to Oliver’s. Slowly his hips started moving under her. With his feet put to the ground Oliver had the leverage to thrust up.

“God,” Felicity hissed, breaking the kiss.

She quickly sat up, putting her hands to his chest to give her leverage. While Oliver’s hips stopped moving, she rocked against him slowly, making his cock press against her inner walls. Then she lifted herself off of him slowly before sinking back down. Felicity continued with that rhythm. She rode him torturously slowly, enjoying the way he watched her doing so.

“Felicity,” Oliver growled.

Felicity lifted herself off from him before thrusting down sharply. Oliver’s hands dug into her hips so deep, it almost hurt her. She didn’t complain, though. She enjoyed the firm grip he had on her body.

While her movements stayed slow, her thrusts grew harder. Her skin slapped against his whenever she thrust down onto him. Oliver reached deep inside of her, slowly increasing her pleasure. She felt her stomach tightening, her breaths growing shorter as her heartbeat quickened.

When Oliver seemed to be unable to take it any longer, he thrust up sharply. Felicity hissed for breath, her body slumping forward and against him. Her face fell to the crook of his neck, her lips coming to rest against his shoulder. She was panting for breath, her lungs barely filling with air anymore it seemed.

“Move,” she asked. “Please move.”

Oliver didn’t need to be told twice. He seemed to have only waited for her go to finally move. His hands were still holding onto her hips tightly when he started thrusting up into her hard. He moved deeper and deeper inside of her, the tip of his cock rubbing against just the right spot inside of her that stimulated each cell in her body, making pleasure build all over her body.

“Yes,” she moaned.

Sliding one hand into his short hair, Felicity turned Oliver’s head towards her, so she could kiss him. Her lips moved against his hungrily, trying to take as much of him as he was willing to offer. Given how eagerly his tongue moved against hers, he was giving a lot and taking just as much from her. Oliver’s movements got even quicker and harder. Felicity’s pleasure rose so quickly, it made her whimper against Oliver’s lips and he swallowed all of them.

She could feel him growing tense. His muscles were strained. The wild beating of his heart told her that he was just as close to his orgasm as she was. She wanted to look at him, so she could watch him when he was falling over the edge, but she couldn’t bring herself to let go of his lips. She wanted to prolong the feeling of being right on the edge of the peak of her pleasure.

Once the familiar tingle started in her toes, it only took a few more hard thrusts for Felicity to fall off the edge. She came with a long moan that made her break the kiss. She was panting for breath, barely able to even feel Oliver’s lips moving down her neck as she was riding so high on her wave of pleasure.

As soon as her lungs stopped burning as painfully as they had, Felicity pressed her lips to Oliver. She slipped her tongue into his mouth, devouring him. She let the familiar taste of his tongue ground her as she was slowly coming down from her high. Oliver was still hard as he was lazily thrusting in and out of her, his movements slow and shallow. His hands were roaming over her back, stroking from her butt to her shoulders and back down again.

“Thank you,” Felicity whispered against his shoulder before she could stop it.

Oliver chuckled, tightening his arms around her waist to keep her close to him. Sighing, Felicity snuggled her cheek to his shoulder and closed her eyes. She enjoyed the feeling of still having him inside of her where she was so sensitive after these two mind-blowing orgasms.

“You don’t have to thank me,” Oliver replied. “It was my pleasure.”

“Since I feel you still rock-hard inside of me, I’d say it’s not true.”

Again Oliver chuckled. He turned his head and pressed a kiss to her forehead. Felicity couldn’t say why, but it made her stomach tingle. Smiling, she propped her head up onto her hand and watched Oliver. He was smiling back at her, and Felicity couldn’t resist stroking her fingertips over his stubble.

“Maybe I am just working you up for something really extraordinary,” Oliver told her.

Felicity perked up an eyebrow in question, her smile widening. “And what is that supposed to mean?”

Oliver lifted his head from the pillow to brush his lips against hers gently. Felicity was about to deepen the kiss when Oliver sat up, taking her with him. She thought he was going to turn them, so he could press her into the mattress and continue with the sex. Instead of that Oliver tightened his arms around her waist and got up with her in his arms. Felicity instinctively wrapped her legs around his hips, keeping his cock safe inside of her.

“What are you doing?” Felicity asked with a frown though she could barely hold back her chuckle.

“I am carrying you.”

Felicity chuckled. “I can see that.”

She could see that indeed, but still she didn’t really believe it. Did he really carry her away from the bed while he was still hard inside of her? Felicity doubted that anyone could hold against her that she was really turned on. Oliver’s muscles were a pleasure to watch, but feeling them move against her while he was using them to carry her in his arms was making her feel so aroused that Felicity felt her mouth go dry and hunger for him build in her once more.

While he was carrying her across her room to the bathroom, he brushed his lips against hers. Sighing, Felicity leaned against him and deepened the kiss. Their tongues met in a slow dance once more. She gently caressed the back of his head, scratching his scalp in the way that made him release a low growl against her lips.

Only when she heard the door to the shower being opened, Felicity broke the kiss. Oliver’s lips fell to the side of her neck. He gently nibbled at her tender skin, making Felicity close her eyes with a sigh, while he was closing the shower door behind them.

Felicity almost expected him to press her against the cold glass and take her with quick and hard thrusts. She felt aroused even thinking about that idea. The cold glass at her back would set a nice contrast to Oliver’s warm body that was pressed to her front and after to amazing orgasms she was sure that it wouldn’t take long for her third to take over her body once they had started.

Instead of taking her pressed against the glass of the shower, though. It was quite the opposite actually because while he was turning on the shower and the water started hailing down on them, he slid out of her and set her to the cool floor. Felicity made a disapproving sound. She even made a pouty face and Oliver chuckled at that.

“What-“ she started, but stopped when Oliver turned her around. Her back was pressed against his chest. She could feel his erection rub against her butt. Oliver’s hands moved from her lower stomach up her chest to her breasts. He massaged them, kneading the soft flesh with his strong hands. His thumbs moved over her nipples, teasing them. “Oh, god.”

Her head fell back against his shoulder, and Felicity lifted her hands to stroke them into Oliver’s hair. Meanwhile Oliver wrapped his arms around her chest tightly, just holding her to him. They weren’t moving. They weren’t talking. They weren’t kissing. They just stood close like that and enjoyed the quiet intimacy of this moment.

Felicity felt her heart skipping a beat. Oliver had his cheek snuggled against hers, his head ducked, so he could press his nose against the side of her neck. He was breathing her in, and Felicity couldn’t help feeling incredibly comfortable in his arms like that. She closed her eyes, just enjoying the feeling of being so close to him. This was probably the most content she had been in weeks and she couldn’t even get herself to care that things between her and Oliver were complicated. She just enjoyed this and let go of all the worries to do so.

When Oliver’s hips started moving against her butt, his cock pressing against her backside more firmly, Felicity released a low groan. She gripped one of Oliver’s forearms, holding onto him while her pleasure increased. Oliver kissed his way from her pulse point up her neck to her ear. His teeth grazed her lobe, biting down on the soft skin, before he soothed the stinging pain with his tongue. Then he leaned his lips against her ear.

“I told you it was a good idea to tell me about your deepest desire,” he told her with husky voice, “because now I get to fulfill it.”

Felicity released a strangled sound, a mixture of a sigh and a moan. She didn’t have much time to think through all the questions that rose in her mind – Had he planned this the entire time? Had he asked her about her fantasy because he had planned to fulfill it? Was this something he would enjoy too or did he only do it because he knew she wanted to do it? – because Oliver already moved his hands down her thighs to press her legs closer together. He took hold of her wrists to outstretch her arms and put her hands to the shower wall. The glass was steamy from the hot water that was hailing down on the two of them and Felicity worried that her hands would slip on the glass, but Oliver’s arms circled her waist tightly as if he was letting her know that he wouldn’t let her fall.

His lips pressed to the soft kiss right under her ear before he let them travel down her neck. Felicity sighed, enjoying the sensation. Oliver tightened his right arm around her chest right under her breasts while he was letting his left hand travel down between her thighs. Without any hesitation he stroked her wet folds, and Felicity arched her back, so only her shoulders and hips were pressed to his body.

While Oliver kept stroking her folds, never moving too close to her entrance or her clit, he moved his hips against the curve of her ass, so his cock pressed against her butt. Felicity moaned, arching her back even more. She bent her head back to give Oliver more access to her neck, and he thanked her by sucking hard at her neck. Another moan escaped Felicity’s lips. Then Oliver circled her clit.

“God, Oliver, please,” Felicity whispered.

“Please what?” Oliver whispered against the juncture of her neck and shoulder, pinching her clit between his thumb and forefinger.

Felicity tried to answer. She tried to form a coherent sentence, but Oliver’s fingers on her clit and his cock against her butt made it almost impossible to even say a word. All that seemed to come from her lips were moans of pleasure and sighs of contentment. She was overwhelmed by being in his warm embrace and feeling this tingling inside of her.

“Please what?” Oliver asked again.

What did she want, Felicity wondered for only a short moment before she asked, “Please fulfill my fantasy.”

She could feel Oliver smile against her neck for a moment, and she sucked in a deep breath in response. He pressed a kiss to her shoulder before he moved his hand away from her clit and between their bodies. Felicity licked her lips right before she felt the tip of his cock press to her entrance. He thrust into her with one firm thrust that made her slump forward slightly.

“God, yes,” she whispered, trying to get her already erratic breathing under control.

Oliver put his hands to her hips, holding them in place. He pulled out of her until only the tip of his cock was inside of her and then slid back in slowly. He set a slow but firm rhythm. She could feel every inch of his hard length pressing into her sensitive folds. She was still so sensitive from her first two orgasms that she felt herself rising higher and higher in her pleasure quickly.

The room was filled with the sounds of the streaming water and their bodies moving together. They were both breathing heavily. The steam of the hot water embraced her in warmth that almost made her dizzy. Adding all the wonderful sensations – Oliver’s hands on her hips, his body leaning forward over hers, his chest pressing to her back, his cock sliding between her folds perfectly – she was indeed feeling a little bit dizzy in the best way possible.

It wasn’t long until Oliver sped up his movements. His thrusts were growing shorter and harder. He was still holding onto her hips firmly, using the hold he had on her body to drive into her rapidly. Felicity could feel her walls flutter around his cock, her orgasm fast approaching.

When a particularly hard thrust made her hands slip on the steamy glass, Oliver quickly wrapped his arms around her waist to give her leverage. He pulled her back against his chest, holding her body close to his. His lips sucked at the side of her neck, and Felicity’s head fell back against his shoulder in response. She gripped his forearms tightly, her nails digging into his skin and certainly leaving red marks.

She felt heat coiling in the pit of her stomach when her pleasure increased. Her lungs were so desperate for air that every intake of breath hurt. She felt like she was rather embraced by fire than warmth by now. Felicity was on the thin line between burning pain and delicious pleasure.

Oliver’s body tightened behind her, his erratic breathing interrupted by low growls that made his chest vibrate against her back. His thrusts were becoming sloppier now that he was seeking his release. Felicity knew he was holding onto a last thread. She could feel it in the desperate movements of his body behind her.

“Felicity,” he whispered against her throat.

She licked her lips, turning her head on his shoulder. She knew he wanted to make her come once more, but he couldn’t hold on much longer. Felicity nodded her head, taking in a breath to force out the words, “Kiss me.”

Oliver didn’t hesitate. He lifted his head from her shoulder and met her lips in a passionate kiss. It only took three more thrusts until they were both falling over the edge together. Oliver’s cock jerked inside of her while Felicity’s inner muscles clenched around him. Felicity felt all the little jolt of pleasure spreading through her body. Her muscles twitched involuntarily, and Felicity was sure that if it wasn’t for Oliver’s strong arms holding her upright, she would probably fall down because her legs refused to carry her any longer.

They moaned into each other’s mouth as they were riding out their last waves of pleasure. Oliver was pushing into her lazily, his hands moving over her front to stroke her tender skin. With a low sigh Felicity loosened her right hand from his arm to move her fingers into short hair, massaging the back of his neck.

Once their heartbeats had calmed down, Oliver slipped out of her and turned her around. He pulled her into a tight hug, kissing her jaw while circling her waist with his strong arms. Felicity rested her head against his shoulder, closing her eyes with a sigh. The tips of her fingers moved over his back slowly. For a long time neither of them said a word. They just stayed close under the stream of hot water.

It was Felicity who eventually spoke first. “I think I might start liking morning exercising.”

Oliver chuckled, kissing her shoulder. “I will gladly keep trying to convince you.”

“I might take you up on your offer,” Felicity replied.

She bent her head back, looking at him with a smile. Oliver smiled back at her for a long moment. He framed her face with his hands and kissed her gently. Felicity sighed against his lips, putting her fingers around his wrists and stroking her thumbs over his pulse point.

They stayed under the shower, kissing and touching each other, for a little while longer before Felicity’s stomach started grumbling. With a chuckle Oliver suggested they should have breakfast, so they climbed out of the shower. Felicity threw a towel at Oliver and started toweling herself too.

“I don’t even know if I have anything in the fridge,” Felicity said, wrapping the towel around her tightly.

Oliver chuckled. “I am sure we will find something that we can make use of.”

“If you expect a hearty breakfast, I might have to disappoint you, though,” Felicity explained. “I can’t cook at all. I can’t even make an omelet.”

Again Oliver chuckled. He wrapped his towel around his hips and came to stand in front of her. Putting his hands to her hips he pulled her closer and kissed the tip of her nose. “Luckily, I am an acceptable cook. Mind if I head to the kitchen already and check if there is anything I can cook us?”

Felicity smiled. “Feel free to use the kitchen as you please. You will be the first and last one to use it for more than making coffee. I love take-out too much.”

Oliver shook his head, pressing his hands to his heart. “I feel sad for your kitchen.”

“Well, make the kitchen happy then.”

“I will,” Oliver replied with a chuckle. He kissed her nose once more. “Take your time.”

“Oh, I will,” Felicity replied.

Oliver turned away from her. He only turned around to wink at her shortly before he closed the door behind him and left her alone in the bathroom. Felicity took in a deep breath, her smile slowly fading from her lips. She sat down on the edge of the bathtub, releasing a low sigh.

So what now? After last night and this amazing morning there was no denying that things between her and Oliver had changed. God, even before they had had sex this morning there had been no denying. There was something between her and Oliver, something that might be one-sided or maybe not. Felicity hoped that it wasn’t one-sided, but she didn’t want to let that hope in to feel disappointed later.

God, even if this wasn’t one-sided, where should this go? Felicity had no time for a relationship. It was why she had hired Oliver in the first place. Besides, she couldn’t take Oliver with her to any work occasions as Oliver since she had already introduced him as Jonas. People would ask questions, and eventually they would find out about his job and then Thea would find out and…

Felicity shook her head. She probably shouldn’t be even thinking about this yet. She had to talk to Oliver. They had to talk about what had happened between them and what that meant. After that they would have to deal with the consequences. Maybe he told her he was only doing his job and hence there wouldn’t be any consequences. They could just go on like it was. All Felicity would have to do was to pretend that she wasn’t feeling any different. It wouldn’t be a big deal.

Besides, it wasn’t like she was in love or anything. She might have some kind of feelings for him, but…

Felicity shook her head once more, squeezing her eyes shut. She would just talk to Oliver about it, and then she would decide what she was going to do and how much thought she was actually going to waste on that tingling feeling in her stomach. Her connection to Oliver might have gotten more complicated in the last hours, but it was still only between them, so she was sure that there was a quick and uncomplicated way to deal with it if it got too complicated.

With that thought in mind Felicity combed her hair and tied it up to a messy bun. She put some lotion to her face and hands before he left the bathroom. She put on some underwear, a simple set of white lace. When she looked around for her sweatpants, her eyes fell on Oliver’s white shirt put over the backrest of a small armchair in the corner of her bedroom. His shoes were put the floor at the foot of the armchair. Oliver must have collected his clothes from where they had been discarded all over her place and put them here. Biting down on her bottom lip, she picked up the fabric and put it on. The sleeves were still rolled up she realized with a smile when she started buttoning it up.

She strolled out of the bedroom and towards the kitchen where she heard Oliver humming a melody she didn’t know. Once she was able to see him, a smile formed on her lips. He was swaying his hips in rhythm with the music, standing in front of the stove and holding onto a pan with one hand. He only wore his boxers which allowed her to see the muscles of his butt moving with every sway of his hips.

“I knew you were just pretending that you can’t dance,” Felicity said, crossing her arms in front of her chest and grinning at him. Immediately Oliver turned around to her, looking at her with wide eyes like she had just caught him doing something really embarrassing. He even blushed, and Felicity felt her jaw dropping slightly at that. “You’re blushing!”

“I am not blushing,” Oliver said with a pout, busying himself with whatever was in the pan. “I don’t blush.”

“Oh, you are totally blushing,” Felicity replied with a chuckle. She crossed the distance between them, sliding her arms around his waist from behind and snuggling her body to his back. Her cheek rested against his shoulder blades. Her hands moved up and down his chest. “You are blushing, and it is so sweet.”

“I am not blushing,” Oliver insisted though he was chuckling now too. “I just didn’t know you were watching me dance. I only dance when I am all on my own.”

“Well, too bad,” Felicity replied, “because now I saw, and I can tell that your butt looks really good with those dance moves.”

“Oh, really?”

Felicity chuckled, kissing his back. “Oh, yes.”

Oliver turned around in her arms. He stroked some strands of hair out of her face before he rested his hands on her cheeks. Smiling, he leaned forward and kissed her. Felicity released a sigh, granting his tongue entrance into her mouth. She straightened up onto the tip of her toes to not lose the contact. Not breaking the kiss, Oliver turned them around and lifted Felicity onto the kitchen counter. She smiled against his lips when she circled his waist with her legs, keeping him tightly against her.

When they broke their kiss, Oliver smiled at her and asked, “So my butt looks good when I dance?”

Felicity smiled back, nodding her head. “Most definitely, yes.”

“Well, I think your legs look great in my shirt.”

“Glad to hear that.”

Still smiling, Oliver leaned in and kissed her once more. It was a slow and gentle kiss. It was almost lazy to be honest, but it didn’t fail to make Felicity’s stomach tingle. Taking in a deep breath, Felicity broke the kiss. Oliver tried to chase her lips to continue kissing her, but Felicity put a hand to his shoulder. Immediately he pulled back enough to give her room though he was still standing between her thighs. His arms loosened around her waist slightly, but didn’t fall off her body. There was worry in his eyes when he looked at her.

“What’s going on?” he asked, moving his hand over the small of her back comfortingly.

Felicity bit down on her bottom lip, wondering how she could ask him what there was between them without giving away that she thought that maybe there really was something between them. She didn’t want him to think that she was imagining things between them that weren’t there although obviously that was exactly what she was doing and-

Oliver lifted a hand to her face and swiped his thumb over her bottom lip, releasing it from the maltreatment of her front teeth. With gentle voice he requested, “Hey, talk to me.”

“You and me, is it still just a job?” Felicity asked. Oliver already opened his lips to reply, but Felicity couldn’t help the spate of words falling from her lips. “I know you said we are friends, and I guess we are in a way. Then last night happened and this morning happened, and now I am really confused. Was this part of your job? Was that you being a friend? What was that? You know I never considered myself being the kind of person that needs a label on everything, but I think I need a label on this and-“

“Felicity,” Oliver interrupted her babble with gentle voice, stroking his hands from her hips down to her thighs.

Immediately Felicity fell silent, locking her eyes with Oliver’s. She was holding her breath, waiting to him to speak, but Oliver kept silent. He just leaned forward and kissed her. His lips moved against hers gently, his tongue slipping between her lips and moving against her tongue slowly. Felicity moved her fingers into his hands, pressing her chest to his and sighing into the kiss.

Their lips parted eventually, but Oliver stayed close to her. His forehead rested against hers while his thumbs were rubbing small circles against the skin of her thighs. He licked his lips, the tip of his tongue almost touching Felicity’s bottom lip, before he pulled away. Felicity’s heart stuttered at the expression in Oliver’s eyes. The deep blue of his eyes were focused on her intensely. He looked serious like he was trying to say with his eyes what he couldn’t say with words.

“Do you understand?”

His voice was only a whisper, so quiet that she could barely understand it over the wild beating of her heart. Felicity just looked at him, eying up his face while taking in a deep breath. Did she understand? She wasn’t good with trusting her feelings. She was good with trusting her head, and her head told her that she needed words rather than a kiss to understand what he meant.

“I don’t think I-“

She was interrupted by a knock at the door. Frowning, Felicity turned her head towards her front door.

“Are you expecting anyone?” Oliver asked.

“No,” Felicity replied. Sighing, she looked back at him and rolled her eyes. “I guess it’s just my neighbor who is missing her cat again. I have to open the door or otherwise she is going to come here every twenty minutes.”

Oliver chuckled, stepping away from her. “Breakfast is almost ready, so you better hurry.”

Felicity slid off the kitchen counter and hurried to the door. Mrs. Henderson was a nice, old lady and the only neighbor Felicity had ever talked to. Mrs. Henderson’s only problem was that she was quite overprotective of her cat. Since her husband had died, the cat seemed to be her only real companion which was probably the reason why she couldn’t bear the thought of anything happening it. Taking in a breath, Felicity readied herself for a panicking Ms. Henderson when she opened the door.

“Surprise!” a piercing voice called out as soon as Felicity had opened the door. The next moment Felicity’s vision was blocked by blonde hair as her unexpected visitor pulled her into a tight hug.

“Mom?”

“Yes, it’s me!” Donna replied excitedly. She pulled back, keeping her hands at Felicity’s shoulders to look at her. “Honey, you don’t eat enough. You are getting thinner and thinner. Well, it’s a good thing your mom is here now to check on you. I know you said you don’t need anyone to check on you, but you are working too much and-“

“Felicity, the scrambled eggs are getting cold, so-“ Oliver started, coming out from the kitchen. He stopped as soon as he saw Felicity’s face. He shot a short look at Donna, who was still holding onto Felicity’s shoulders, and then asked Felicity, “Everything alright?”

“Oh, I guess you already found someone else to check on you,” Donna whispered.

Felicity wasn’t sure if she had meant to say it only for her daughter to hear, but with the way Oliver pressed his lips together, grinning like a Cheshire Cat, Felicity was sure that he had heard her mother’s words nonetheless. Felicity bit down on her bottom lip, trying to figure out what to say. When she looked at her mother, she found Donna eyeing Oliver up first and then her daughter or rather the shirt that her daughter was wearing and that was most definitely missing on Oliver. Her mother was most definitely not as smart as her, but Felicity didn’t doubt for a second that she could make the connection.

“Mom,” Felicity said with a quiet sigh, looking at Oliver, who mouthed ‘Mom’ with a wide smile on his lips, “this is…”

Felicity hesitated awkwardly, unsure whether to introduce him as Jonas or as Oliver. Her mom must have noticed because she frowned slightly.

“Oliver,” Oliver quickly stepped in, approaching Donna and holding out a hand for her. “I’m Oliver. It’s very nice to meet you.”

Donna took Oliver’s hand quickly, shaking it. “Oliver, hi. I’m Donna, Felicity’s mother.”

Felicity bit down on her bottom lip, watching her mother eyeing up Oliver closely like he was a piece of meat she wanted to devour. Still holding his hand, Donna leaned towards her daughter.

“Oh, I guess there were more important things for the two of you to do than exchanging names, right?” Donna whispered, winking at her daughter. Before Felicity got the chance to respond to that, though, Donna already turned her attention back to Oliver. “I remember you said something about omelets, and I have to honestly admit that I am quite hungry, so how about we have breakfast and you two tell me-“

“Actually Oliver was just about to go,” Felicity said quickly. Oliver and Donna both turned their gazes to her. Felicity cleared her throat, looking at Oliver. “Right?”

He tried to push his hands into the pocket of his pants unless he realized that he was only wearing boxers and moved his hands awkwardly to rest on his hips, puckering his lips and nodding his head. “Right.”

Felicity knew it wasn’t exactly polite to kick him out like that, but she really couldn’t have him here as long as her mother was staying. For a long moment there was awkward silence between them. Felicity was looking at Oliver, expecting him to leave, while he was looking back at her like he was waiting for her to do or say something more. Felicity frowned at him slightly, wordlessly asking why he wasn’t leaving.

Oliver cleared his throat and whispered, “My shirt.”

Felicity looked down at herself and his shirt she was still wearing. She felt a blush spreading on her face. “I… uhm… Yeah, I will… change… quickly.”

“Mrs. Smoak-“

“Oh, please call me Donna.”

“Donna, there are some scrambled eggs in the kitchen,” he told her. “I need to put on some more clothes.”

“Which is a shame because you really are nice to look at.”

“Mom,” Felicity said in a warning tone.

“I got the hint, though,” Donna said with a chuckle and walked over to the kitchen.

Felicity shot Oliver a short look before she turned around and headed to the bedroom. Oliver followed her, not saying a word. While Oliver put on his pants, socks and shoes, Felicity unbuttoned his shirt. She put on some fresh sweatpants and a large shirt before giving Oliver his own shirt. Sitting down on the edge of the mattress, she watched him putting it on.

“I’m sorry I need to kick you out like this,” she said quietly, “but I don’t want my mom to get the wrong idea.”

Oliver perked up an eyebrow. “Which wrong idea?”

“Well, that you and me…” Felicity started, gesturing between them two of them. She fell silent, shrugging her shoulders.

“Are sleeping with each other?” Oliver asked with a chuckle. “I think she already knows that, and she is actually right about that if I recall the last hours correctly.”

Felicity smiled at him for a moment but soon lowered her gaze. She knew that her mother knew that she and Oliver were sleeping with each other. There was no chance she hadn’t realized that. She just didn’t want her to think that there was something more between them. Her surprising visit had interrupted the talk Felicity had hoped she and Oliver could have.

“Hey,” Oliver said gently, stepping in front of her. Felicity bent her head back to look at him, and Oliver took her hands, pulling her to her feet. He wrapped her arms around his waist before he put his hands to the small of her back. He pecked her lips gently before he said, “Does your schedule allow you to have lunch with me this week? Or coffee maybe?”

“I don’t know. I would have to check my schedule first.”

“Okay, so you check your schedule and call me,” Oliver suggested. “I would like us to talk, and I think having lunch together or going out for a coffee is the best way to do that.”

Felicity nodded. “Okay.”

Oliver smiled. “Okay.”

He leaned down and kissed her once more. His lips lingered against his, but they stayed close. Felicity sighed quietly, tightening her arms around his waist for a short moment. Way too soon for her liking he pulled away, though. He kissed the tip of her nose with a sigh before he turned around and opened the door to the bedroom. Felicity followed him to the kitchen where her mother was sitting and eating the scrambled eggs Oliver had made.

“Donna, it was really nice to meet you,” Oliver said, holding out his hand for her.

Quickly Donna let her fork fall to the plate and took Oliver’s hand, shaking it. “It was really nice to meet you too. It’s good to know my daughter has someone else to take care of her other than her bodyguard.”

“Mom,” Felicity hissed.

“I can tell you that it’s all my pleasure,” Oliver replied before he turned around and walked to the door. On his way he whispered towards Felicity, “Literally.”

“You can walk your friend to the door if you need another minute alone,” Donna said.

Felicity rolled her eyes, shaking her head. She looked at Oliver, asking, “You find your way out?”

He nodded with an amused smile. “Of course.”

“Bye, Oliver,” Donna said, waving at him with her fork.

“Bye, Donna,” Oliver replied before he winked at Felicity and then left.

Felicity waited until she heard the front door falling shut before she sat down on the bar stool next to her mother with a sigh. She took her mom’s coffee mug and took a sip of the hot liquid. Over the rim of the mug she saw her mother watching her.

“What?” Felicity asked.

“Nothing,” Donna answered with a smile that made Felicity know that it was most definitely not nothing. “I am just happy that you are happy.”

Felicity frowned. “I don’t remember when I have been unhappy the last time.”

“Maybe,” Donna replied, “but I also haven’t seen you this happy in quite some time. I have seen you being content but not as happy as you are right now. And that makes me very happy.”

Donna put her hand to Felicity’s on the countertop, and Felicity watched her mother’s hand on hers, not saying a word. It seemed like whatever there was between her and Oliver had already left the privacy of being just between them. If her mother, after being here for less than ten minutes, could see that Felicity was reacting to Oliver in a certain kind of way, then this wasn’t easy to solve anymore. The complicated thing between her and Oliver seemed to have gotten even more complicated in an instant.

Felicity bit down on her bottom lip. She still thought that what was between her and Oliver was kind of dangerous as long as they hadn’t talked about it. Fact was that her mother was right, though. For the first time in a long time Felicity really was happy.


	8. Chapter 8

As soon as Felicity hung up the phone, her head spinning from the exhausting phone calls she had been busy with all morning, there was a light knock at the door. Instead of leaning back in her chair with a sigh and closing her eyes for just a couple of minutes, she straightened back up and directed her gaze to the door.

“Gerry,” Felicity said with an exhausted smile.

“I’m sorry, Ms. Smoak, but Mr. Dennis called. He needs you to accelerate the planned meeting with the board to twelve o’clock. Apparently some of the board members had trouble to participate per video phone call with the time that was originally agreed on. I already informed the other board members.”

Felicity frowned. “Twelve o’clock?”

“Yes,” Gerry replied. “Is there a problem?”

“It’s my lunch break,” Felicity said quietly before she bit down on her tongue.

Gerry seemed to be slightly nervous as he was rustling with the papers in his hands. He looked at her carefully like he was trying to find out what mood she was on before he explained, “Well, you once said that before an important meeting needs to be canceled or unnecessarily delayed, I should always reschedule for your lunch break since you-“

“You are right,” Felicity interrupted Gerry quickly, smiling at him pointedly. “Board meeting at twelve is no problem. Did you get anyone in Moscow on the phone yet?”

“No, but I am still trying,” Gerry replied.

“Thank you, Gerry.”

“Of course, Ms. Smoak.”

Gerry closed the door quickly and went back to his desk. Felicity watched him getting back on the phone to probably try calling the head of their subsidiary in Moscow once more. Since articles had been published earlier this week that accused Smoak Technologies of stealing work from a company in New York, everything had been going crazy. She had had a hundred phone calls with members of the board which was why she had scheduled a meeting for today to talk to them all at the same time. She would have to schedule an appointment for a press conference later today then, so she could eliminate those rumors. Well, at least she hoped that she was able to eliminate those rumors, but with the media you never knew who they sided with.

Fact was that apparently there had been a hole in their security system that had made their servers vulnerable to hackers, and it had been their work that had been stolen. They didn’t know how much of it had indeed been taken by hackers, and they didn’t know how they could have missed that hole in the system which was even worse. Felicity could facepalm herself because she hadn’t realized sooner. She had worked all Monday on advancing the system to make sure that hackers had no chance to hack into their system anymore. She should have probably taken care of it herself from the start, but she had been told for months that she should give this work up to someone else because as the CEO she had other things to focus on. Well, she couldn’t repeat often enough that she really liked to slap herself for this.

The damage was already done, though, so now she had to make sure it would stay limited. If it was really just the part of their work the article had referred to that had been stolen, they were mostly safe. Luckily, they had put even more safety measures to the important projects they were working on. It was only going to be a minor damage that could be taken care of quickly Felicity hoped.

Yet she knew that it was going to take some time before the turmoil would have calmed down. She also knew already that she would be more than relieved when everything was back to the way it had been before. The last three day had been crazy with work, and so would the next ones be until everything had indeed been taken care of and calmed down. She doubted that she’d see much more than her office and the conference room until everything was back under control.

Biting down on her bottom lip, Felicity took her phone and quickly sent a text to Oliver.

**F:** I need to cancel our lunch date for today. I needed to reschedule an important meeting. Sorry!

She put the phone back to the side of her desk, pulling some papers closer that she still needed to work through before the board meeting. She was disappointed that she needed to cancel her date – not a date-date of course – with Oliver yet again. Since their night together during the last weekend they hadn’t gotten the chance to speak to each other in person. They hadn’t even had time for a phone call. Their contact had basically been limited to short text messages.

Admittedly, the uncertainty of whatever there was between her and Oliver was as much a burden as it was a relief. She hated not knowing because she knew they needed to talk about it. On the other hand, as long as they didn’t talk about it, she could just pretend that everything could continue the way things were. It was stupid to think like this because she knew this life in the uncertain would have to end eventually, but maybe she could just enjoy it as long as it worked for her. She had enough at her hands with what was going on here in the company, so she really couldn’t gather the effort to clear things with Oliver yet.

Felicity had read the first sentence of the paper five times without processing a single word, her mind still occupied by her memories of the last night and morning she had spent with Oliver, when her phone vibrated. Happy about the distraction, Felicity took her phone. She couldn’t contain the smile that spread on her lips, seeing that she had received a text from Oliver.

Shooting a gaze towards Gerry, who was still busy at the phone, Felicity turned her chair around, so she was facing the wall. For just a moment she wanted to forget all the stress here. If she had to relinquish her lunch break, she could at least take a few minutes to relax now. That thought in her mind, Felicity opened the text message.

**O:** Again? :( You already had to cancel or lunch date yesterday.

Felicity smiled at the use of the emoticon. Before he had started texting her more often a few days ago, she wouldn’t have thought of him as a person to ever use emoticons. She couldn’t say why that was. It was just a feeling.

**F:** I know. Work is still crazy, probably will be for a while. I won’t get around having a proper lunch break in the next days. :(

She didn’t turn back around in her chair to try refocusing on the papers. She knew Oliver would most likely text back if he had the time which she hoped he did. Indeed it wasn’t even taking ten seconds before the beeping of her phone announced another incoming text message.

**O:** How about I come to your place later today, cook you dinner and help you relax?

Felicity bit down on her bottom lip in response to the words. She could almost see Oliver in front of her, grinning smugly and wiggling his eyebrows. Of course there was the slightest possibility that maybe his words weren’t meant the way she interpreted them, but ‘relaxing’ had kind of turned into a synonym for ‘having sex’ for them.

**F:** I think when I get home today, all I want to do is falling into bed and sleep.

Her front teeth buried into her bottom lip a little bit more firmly as she was rereading the text she had sent him once more. She quickly sent him another short message.

**F:** Sorry!

Her fingers tapped nervously against the back of her phone as she was waiting for his reply. Their night of unplanned passion followed by the just as passionate morning after had come at the most inappropriate time, or maybe it had been the problems here at work that had come at the bad time. Either way the circumstances of this complicated thing between them was only making everything more complicated it seemed. She didn’t want Oliver to think that she didn’t want to talk to him. Well, she didn’t really want to talk to him, at least not about what was going on between them if that meant ending whatever there was between them, but-

Felicity shook her head, startling herself out of her internal ramble. She looked at the phone for a minute longer, waiting for a reply, but Oliver didn’t send another text.

**F:** Are you mad at me now?

She could have slapped herself for sounding like she needed him to be okay with what she was doing, but she couldn’t help herself. She needed to know if he was mad at her or the thought would distract her all day. Felicity knew that it was the other way around and Oliver would stand her up two days in a row, she would probably be mad at him. Luckily, he didn’t make her wait long for his answer.

**O:** No, I just have an epiphany.

Felicity frowned, an amused smile spreading on her lips at the same time.

**F:** How come?

**O:** I just realized how so many girls must have felt when I was a teenager and screwing around. I mean… We had sex and now you’re not calling me back. I feel used.

Felicity bit down on her bottom lip, wondering how to respond to it, but she didn’t know how she was supposed to answer. She wasn’t even sure if he was just teasing her or if he was serious. That was the only reason why she hated texting.

**O:** And since you can’t see the giant smile on my face, I’ll add that this is a joke… or a try of emotionally blackmailing you into calling me if it works. ;)

Felicity felt dozens of butterflies fluttering in her stomach, leaving a wonderful tingling. She smiled at the display, and she could almost see Oliver’s face in front of her, a huge smile on his lips that made his dimples show. It made her heart beat a little faster for a moment.

**F:** You’re cute.

**O:** Noooo! That is not a word I’d use to describe myself.

Felicity bit her bottom lip, thinking back to the conversation they had had after her catastrophic date with Ray.

**F:** I guess you’d rather use ‘hot, charming, attentive, warm, with a lot of humor?”

**O:** Yes, that sounds a lot more like me.

Felicity chuckled lowly.

**F:** I suspected that. Don’t ask me why! ;)

As soon as the words were typed, Felicity shot a glance at her watch.

**F:** Gotta go now. I have to read some papers for later. I’ll see you on Saturday, though.

**O:** Dinner with some people of the board. I remember. I wished we could be alone instead…

Felicity smiled at that. She felt her heart skipping a beat before it started racing in her chest, pounding against her ribs strongly.

**F:** Dinner won’t take long, so we have a lot of time after.

**O:** I can live with that. ;) I’ll let you work now. You can call me if you need to be relaxed, though.

**F:** Maybe. ;)

With a sigh Felicity turned around with her chair and focused her attention back on the papers she had started reading before her short break to text Oliver. She found herself easily focusing on the papers now after her short talk to Oliver. She didn’t know if she should be pleased or worried about the reaction she showed to some simple texting with him.

There it was again, the terrible ambivalence in regards to whatever there was between her and Oliver as well as regarding to talking about whatever there was between them. She wanted to know and didn’t want to know at the same time. It sucked.

Maybe she should just enjoy the uncertainty until Saturday after the dinner. They would have time to talk then. Well, maybe they could have sex first and then talk, so just in case they weren’t on the same page with what there was between them, they had some great goodbye sex.

Which page was Felicity on, though? Maybe she should find that out for herself before she should even think about talking to Oliver about it.

Did she want to have something more with him? Did she want to try building something serious and real with him? Did she want to risk pouring her heart into something that would be hard work and probably fall apart with the first troubles? That was if they even made it that far and became something serious.

Or wasn’t it more reasonable to just push it all down, forget what had happened that one night and just move on with her life like she had never met Oliver? Felicity was sure that this would be the solution that saved her time, energy and heart. But was it what would make her happier?

Realizing that she had once again let herself be distracted by her thoughts, Felicity closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. She concentrated on pushing all thoughts of Oliver away for now redirect her focus to the papers at hand. She could still think about Oliver all Saturday before they would meet for dinner. Now it was time to work.

With that thought in mind Felicity dived into the papers, fully focusing on the numbers and letters in front of her. Luckily, it wasn’t exactly hard to focus on the papers once she had really started. Whoever had wrote this seemed to have intended making Felicity go mad over this because she had to read every sentence at least twice and that meant a lot coming from her. She had never had many problems understanding, but these papers almost brought her to the limits.

Her head was spinning by the time she heard Gerry’s voice through the inter-com, pulling her from her thoughts.

“Ms. Smoak?”

Grateful for the urgently needed distraction, Felicity let her pen fall to the desk and leaned back in her chair with a sigh. She pulled her hair tie from her hair, loosening it out of her neat ponytail, and moved her fingers through her hair. She sighed lowly.

“What’s going on, Gerry?”

“Ms. Rochev is calling,” Gerry said hesitantly. Felicity frowned slightly, shooting her young assistant a glance through the glass wall. He kept his eyes on his desk stoically, his hands moving around slightly nervously. “She needs to talk to you about some problems on the bill for the last quarter.”

Felicity frowned, trying to figure out if that name should ring a bell, but she really couldn’t say why she should know that name. She had never heard of that woman, at least not as far as she could remember. That probably didn’t mean much given that her head was still full of all the information she had read in those papers.

“Ms. Rochev?” Felicity asked.

Gerry cleared his throat. “From an escort agency you seemed to have-“

“Just put her straight through,” Felicity hurried to say, trying to ignore the heat that was rising to her cheeks. She didn’t want this conversation with Gerry to last even a second longer than absolutely necessary. It was embarrassing enough he knew that she was hiring an escort now. She didn’t want to make this even more embarrassing for the both of them by talking to him about it. “Thanks, Gerry.”

Felicity bit down on her bottom lip firmly, lowering her gaze to her desk. She would probably never be able to look at her assistant again. How was she supposed to look at him again?

When there was a clicking in the line, telling Felicity that the call was put through, she quickly put on a smile. She knew her caller couldn’t see it, but she was sure that it was audible in her voice when she asked, “Ms. Rochev, what can I do for you?”

Only know that she had asked the question out loud Felicity wondered why Ms. Rochev should call her. Gerry had mentioned the bill for the quarter, and Felicity had to gulp at that. She had transferred the money for the services to the agency at the beginning of the week. She had hesitated to do so, unsure of which dates to actually count as Oliver’s work and which not to. Ha, one more problem that came from not talking to Oliver about what was going on between them!

At the end Felicity had settled on paying for everything except for their last night. She had paid for the evening she had been sick and Oliver had taken care of her because he hadn’t known that she had canceled the appointment. She had also paid for the quickie in the bathroom here because she didn’t want Oliver to think that she expected anything from him. She could still easily say she must have mixed up dates or something if he had given his boss other information. Felicity just preferred to pay too much than paying not enough and giving Oliver the feeling that she was assuming that whatever there was between them had started before that one night last weekend because it hadn’t and-

When Felicity realized that her thoughts were getting faster, her inner voice rambling in her mind, she quickly shook her head and waited for Ms. Rochev to answer.

“Ms. Smoak, one of my employees came across checking your bill and found some discrepancies,” Ms. Rochev said.

Felicity was surprised by the woman’s voice. For someone who was running an agency that basically sold love, she sounded terrible sniffy. She sounded kind of angry though Felicity really didn’t know why she should be angry. Then again there seemed to be discrepancies regarding her bill, so maybe that was what made her angry.

Felicity felt her stomach twist painfully. Had Oliver charged the usual amount of money for the last night they had spent together? She couldn’t be angry at him for that. They had never agreed on everything else and the line between job and privacy was quite thin given Oliver’s services. Maybe he was just so much better at his job than Felicity had thought he was. They really should have talked about this she figured.

She cleared her throat before she took in a deep breath and said, “I am sure we can resolve this quickly. I probably just made a mistake, so if you could tell me which discrepancies there are, we will certainly find a solution.”

“I am sure of that,” Ms. Rochev answered in the same arrogant tone that made Felicity scrunch up her nose. “Let’s start with October 17 th .”

Felicity shot a short look at her desk calendar, finding that it was the day Oliver had told her that they should try being friends. She bit down on her bottom lip shortly before she said, “What about that?”

“Well, according to Mr. King’s records there has been no appointment that day.”

Ignoring the terrible tone of that woman’s voice, Felicity felt her heart skipping a beat. Oliver hadn’t told his boss about their quick encounter that day, hence didn’t want any money for that. Maybe these feelings between them weren’t that one-sided as she had feared or maybe he just saw that as a friendly turn, but either way she felt it was a good sign that maybe things weren’t as hopeless as she had feared.

Felicity didn’t miss that as unsure of what she wanted before, her reaction to this news made quite clear that at least part of her wanted to have the chance to have more.

She cleared her throat, explaining, “I must have mixed up some of the dates and forget to delete this one from the bill then. Sorry for the problems that caused. Anything more?”

“Oh, there are several discrepancies, Ms. Smoak.”

Ms. Rochev’s voice was cold as ice. It actually made a shiver ran down the length of Felicity’s spine. She wasn’t one to be intimidated easily, but that woman’s voice certainly sounded like she could dub the next Disney villain. Or maybe she rather shouldn’t do so given that the kids would probably have nightmares after.

Felicity straightened up, squaring her shoulders. “Just tell me.”

“You canceled the appointment for November 1 st  in time, so we don’t charge you for that one.”

“Oh, but the agency apparently forgot to inform Mr. King about that in time, so I figure I should reimburse him for that,” Felicity explained since it was true.

There was a short moment of silence that made Felicity frown before Ms. Rochev answered with steadily colder growing voice, “I think you have been misinformed about that, Ms. Smoak. Mr. King was informed about the cancelation right after you called.”

Felicity frowned. She remembered very clearly that Oliver had told her that he hadn’t been informed about the cancelation. It had been why he had showed up at her doorstep and why he hadn’t had any other plans for that night which was why he had stayed with her. Now Ms. Rochev told her that Oliver had known about the cancelation, so what was that supposed to mean? If he had just wanted to spend time with her, why hadn’t he just stopped by? They had been friends, so he could have just used that to explain why he had wanted to stay that night. He had emphasized that they were friends that night anyway, so why lie about coming to see her in the first place?

Before Felicity could find any sense in Oliver’s behavior and the lie he had apparently told her, Ms. Rochev added, “For the appointments after October 17 th you have apparently transferred too much money as Mr. King was no longer available for special services.”

Felicity felt her stomach drop, while nausea was rising inside of her. She had only had two more appointments with Oliver that had ended with sex in her bed. During the last night they had shared there had just been that sexual tension that had led to the long overdue kiss, the intimate sex and the comfortable morning after. During those two appointments between that night and their quickie here in the bathroom that hadn’t been the case, though. It had been exactly like it had always been since the day she had first hired Oliver. They had gotten to her home and he has asked her where she wanted him. It had been a job, or at least she had thought it had been a job because there had been nothing that would have told her otherwise. His behavior had been no different.

So that was what Oliver thought friends did? Lying to each other to get their way into each other’s pants or life in general for that matter since they hadn’t had sex when she had been sick?

Felicity suddenly felt weirdly uncomfortable. She had trusted Oliver. In a way she had trusted him from the moment she had met him because otherwise she would have never spent time with him, and she certainly would have never allowed him into her bed. Part of the progress of that trust had been based on lies it seemed now, though. Knowing that she had trusted him and slept with him, told her things about him… It made her feel nauseated now.

Like minutes ago she had thought they might have some kind of future, one that wasn’t partly job-related and partly based on the feelings that connected them. She had thought they could fully lean on the emotional side of what connected them. Now she wondered if this emotional side had ever really existed.

Oliver knew about the threats that had been put to her life. He knew that she had trouble trusting people, especially given those threats. Yet he had lied his way deeper into her life. And he had been so good at it that even her bullshit-generator hadn’t warned her of him. Well, acting was part of his job, wasn’t it?

“I hope Mr. King informed you that he is no longer available for special services and that of course you have the option to choose hiring some other escort anytime.”

Felicity didn’t know what to say about that. She hadn’t heard Oliver’s point of view yet. Maybe he had good reasons for why he had done what he had done. She doubted it actually, but she was willing to wait and listen to him. She wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. In the meantime she didn’t want him to lose his job. He needed it for Thea and her time in college.

“Of course he did,” Felicity replied quickly. “I guess I didn’t read about the payment details carefully enough.”

Ms. Rochev made a sound that Felicity didn’t know how to describe, but it sounded like she wasn’t completely convinced. Instead of confirming that interpretation she just explained, “I will transfer the money back to you then.”

“Thank you very much. I will take care that there won’t be any more discrepancies the next time.”

If there even was a next time, Felicity mentally added. As long as this wasn’t resolved, she wouldn’t hire Oliver again. If living in the uncertainty had been kind of nice before, she knew there was no way that she could continue with it now. Felicity needed to know what Oliver was doing and why he was doing it. Depending on the answer she would have to decide how to move forward.

“That would be nice,” Ms. Rochev answered, making Felicity roll her eyes. “Have a nice day, Ms. Smoak.”

“Uhm…” Felicity made, unsure of how to say what she wanted to say.

“Is there anything more, Ms. Smoak?”

“Yes, actually there is one more thing,” Felicity said. “It’s about my entry for Saturday.”

 

 

With his motorcycle helmet under his arm and his phone in his hand Oliver leaned back against the wall of the elevator cab and scrolled through the text messages he and Felicity had sent each other. He smiled about the more or less subtle flirting before he pushed the phone into the pocket of his leather jacket with a sigh.

Since the last night they had spent together, he had barely been able to stop thinking about Felicity. He had been thinking about her a lot before that night already, but it had only increased now. Something had changed between him and Felicity. He had the feeling that something had been going on between them before already, but only since that last night he was sure that Felicity was feeling the same way.

Oliver wasn’t sure if he would go as far as saying that he had fallen in love with Felicity yet, but he knew he was feeling more for her than a professional agreement or even a friendship would explain. There were little butterflies fluttering in his stomach whenever he thought about her, and the smile that had been on his lips since the morning he had left Felicity’s townhouse had been so extraordinarily wide that Thea had already confronted him about it.

He couldn’t wait for the dinner on Saturday to be over, so he and Felicity could spend a little time alone. They really had to talk about what there was between them, so they could decide how to continue with that. He hoped that he hadn’t misinterpreted any of Felicity’s actions and that she was actually on the same side as him about this. He wanted to give the chemistry between them a chance. He really did.

When the elevator doors opened at the topmost floor of the building where Isabel Rochev had her office, Oliver took in a deep breath and stepped out of the elevator. The light-flooded room in front of Isabel’s office was empty except for her assistant that was sitting behind her desk, typing something on the keyboard of her computer. Limiting his smile to a polite one, Oliver stepped in front of her desk.

“Hi. Isabel wanted to talk to me.”

“Oliver, hi,” the brunette said with a smile. “Ms. Rochev is in a meeting. Please just sit down and wait a few minutes. I am sure it won’t take much longer. Do you want a coffee?”

“No, thanks,” Oliver replied.

Smiling at her for a moment longer, Oliver turned around and headed to the seating area. He sat down on the leather couch, putting the helmet to the couch next to him. He still had no idea why Isabel had summoned him to her office, and he wasn’t exactly looking forward to meeting her either. Isabel had something on her that made Oliver think of chalkboard scraping.

Well, he probably wouldn’t have to put up that woman much longer. If Felicity agreed on trying to find out what there was between them, he would have to quit his job. He couldn’t expect anyone to have a relationship with him while he was still dating women even if it was only a job and he had quit on the special services some time ago already. Fact was he didn’t even want to keep professionally dating other women when he was dating someone in private. It just didn’t feel right to him.

He would have to find a different job, though. Thea still had some years of college ahead of her, and he wanted to make sure that she could invest her time in studying and enjoying college life. He didn’t want her to worry about money. Finding a well-paid job would be everything but easy, though. He hadn’t graduated college and his working experiences were limited to dating and sleeping with women.

He should probably start thinking about a job that would fit his abilities and requirements already. Even if Felicity wasn’t on the same page as him – a thought that made his heart ache in his chest – he couldn’t continue being an escort forever. He had never even planned to do it forever. Maybe it was time to move on. If he didn’t do it now, he would probably never do so.

Oliver shot a look at his watch and sighed. Maybe Felicity was over with her meeting which meant that she might have three minutes to text with him. That way she could catch a little break during her stressful day, and he could distract himself from the boredom of waiting. Besides, it was always great talking to Felicity.

He was just about to pull his phone from the pocket of his leather jacket when the door of Isabel’s office opened. It wasn’t Isabel herself that stepped out of it, though. Instead it was Tommy who came out of their boss’ office, his head red and his face strained. Obviously Isabel wasn’t in a good mood which didn’t exactly surprise Oliver since he had never met Isabel in a good mood. When Tommy’s gaze fell on Oliver, he made a face that Oliver couldn’t interpret. Tommy approached him quickly, so Oliver hurried to get onto his feet, looking at his friend with a frown.

“Hey, what’s-“ Oliver started, but he stopped when Tommy grabbed his upper arm and turned them, so their backs was to Isabel’s assistant.

“What the hell did you do?” he hissed in a whisper.

Oliver frowned. “What do you mean? I didn’t do anything.”

“No, you  _ promised _ me not to do anything to screw this up, but then you go and-“

“Oliver.”

He cringed at Isabel’s voice because though it wasn’t exactly jarring or anything, it really reminded him of the sound that was to be heard when someone scratched their nails over a chalkboard. Oliver looked away from Tommy and towards Isabel who was standing in the doorframe to her office, her leery cat eyes focused on him.

Oliver shot his friend another short look before he took his helmet from the couch and approached Isabel. She led him into her office, making a gesture to let him know that he should sit down in front of her desk. Isabel sat down on her executive chair, leaning back in the leather and looking at him without saying a word.

“When you moved to Star City and applied for a job here, I was hesitant to hire you,” Isabel said with what Oliver though was a dangerously quiet voice. “You had very good recommendations from Central City, but there was something off about you that made me think that you were going to cause problems. And now here we are.”

Oliver frowned slightly, unsure what Isabel was referring to. The last clients he had met had all been satisfied with his work. Two of them had even mentioned that they could imagine hiring him more often to spend time with them. It seemed like he was slowly establishing his reputation here, even without the special services. A lot of clients really just wanted someone to spend time with them without any sexual favors.

“I worked very hard to build this agency, and I won’t allow you or anyone else to ruin what I built.”

“Is there a problem, Isabel?” Oliver asked with a frown, getting tired and impatient.

“Tommy will undertake your appointment on Saturday,” Isabel told him, “and he will undertake each further entry that is made by Ms. Smoak.”

Oliver shook his head. “Ms. Smoak is my client.”

“Not anymore,” Isabel simply replied. “I have some new entries that-“

“I don’t want any new entries.”

At the biting tone of his voice Isabel pursed her lips. Oliver knew that he wasn’t exactly doing anything to make himself look professional, but the thought that Felicity should become someone else’s client made him beyond angry. He had spent the last months with Felicity. He had made her feel more comfortable about hiring an escort. He had built a relationship with her. Even apart from his feelings for Felicity, Isabel just had no right to take a client from Oliver.

Since he was sure that those reasons wouldn’t convince Isabel at all, he swallowed all those words of anger and said instead, “I am not sure Ms. Smoak would approve of this decision. I know Tommy is the most wanted escort in this agency, but I-“

“Ms. Smoak and I had a short conversation today during which she told me that she no longer wants you to escort her.”

Isabel’s words felt like a punch in his stomach. He didn’t know what he had expected. There really was no good reason why Isabel should have taken a client from him if it wasn’t because of a client’s demand.

Why would Felicity do that, though? They had gotten along. They had actually more than just gotten along. They had built a real connection to each other. He had been more open with her than he had been with any other client. God, he had been more open with her than he was with a lot of people he had known! After their last night together and the flirting text messages he had thought there would be a chance that they could be more. He had actually believed that once they talked about what was going on between them they would really become more.

If maybe the text messages they had exchanged had been any less flirting and hopeful, maybe he would be less surprised about this. He knew that Felicity had put boundaries on what was happening between them. It had been like that from their first date on. Slowly she had allowed their connection to get deeper, though. Maybe the spontaneous sex had been pushing her limits a little bit too much. Maybe she had gotten scared of it, but then why those text messages earlier today? It all just didn’t make sense.

And it hurt. It hurt really badly, thinking that after the last night they had shared Felicity really wanted another escort. He had thought they were on the same page. He understood if she was hesitant, but this was a definite rejection before they had even had the chance to talk about anything. Why didn’t she tell him that maybe what had happened the other night was over exerting her? He understood that. He wasn’t quite sure what they should do with what had happened between them, either. This was just… He just didn’t understand.

“Did Ms. Smoak say  _ why _ she wanted a different escort?” Oliver asked with strained voice.

“No,” Isabel replied, narrowing her eyes at him, “but I think it might have something to do with the discrepancies between her bill and your records.”

Oliver took in a deep breath though he had to force the air into his lungs. He had forgotten that it had been payday at the beginning of the week. Of course the management had made comparisons between his records and the money Felicity’s bill. If whoever was responsible for that task hadn’t been working with high fever and their head not in it, they certainly hadn’t missed that Felicity had paid for sex that according to his records had never happened.

“Oliver, an agency like this can’t afford escorts that misuse a client’s trust,” Isabel said with biting voice. “This is your one and only warning. You get yourself back under control and work within the rules or you are out. I will mail you your new appointments and your new clients’ contact details. Now leave and don’t dare to go see Ms. Smoak or you can hold out for a new job right away.”

Oliver gritted his teeth, growing angrier with every second. Grabbing his helmet, Oliver got up and left Isabel’s office without saying anything more. He slammed the door shut behind him, ignoring Isabel’s assistant that looked at him curiously as he strode right towards the elevator. He hit the button to call the elevator several times until the door finally opened.

As soon as he was in the underground parking, Oliver put on his helmet, got on his motorcycle and raced through the city towards Smoak Technologies.

He understood that Felicity was confused about the discrepancies. He hadn’t told her about quitting the special services because he hadn’t wanted to lose her as a client. He had shown up the evening she had cancelled their date because he had wanted to check for her. He had…

Fine, he had messed up by not telling her, but didn’t he deserve the chance to explain this to her? Actually, she hadn’t only denied him the chance to explain. She had just right out replaced him.

Oliver gritted his teeth even more, abruptly stopping the motorcycle at the side of the street in front of Smoak Technologies. He turned the engine off and slowly rolled the motorcycle closer to the building where he parked it close to the wall. Taking off his helmet, he hurried inside of the building. He quickly pushed himself through the closing doors of one of the elevators and pushed the button for the topmost floor several times.

He knew it probably wasn’t the smartest idea to come here and see Felicity. He was angry, angry at Isabel and at Felicity and at himself. Besides, he knew that she was busy like she had been busy these last days already. He just couldn’t help himself. He needed to talk to her, now even more than before his conversation with Isabel.

The elevator made seven stops before it finally opened its doors to the seventeenth floor where Felicity’s office was. Oliver had already set the first step forward, intending to stride right towards Felicity’s assistant, but he stopped dead in his tracks when he found Felicity standing right in front of him. She looked at him probably just as surprised as he was about seeing her in front of the elevator instead of in her office. Her eyes were slightly widened and her lips opened a little bit.

Unable to say a word, Oliver just stared at Felicity. She was as beautiful as she had always been. Her skin was maybe a little bit paler and the skin under her eyes slightly darker, but she was still unbelievably beautiful. He had seen her all styled to head out to parties. He had seen her falling apart on top of him or under him. He had seen her relaxed and sleepy. He had seen her sick. Now was the first time he was seeing her really exhausted and probably slightly sleep-deprived, but it wasn’t taking away any of her beauty.

Oliver was so distracted by the sight of Felicity and the feeling of his anger at her slowly fading away and being replace by other feelings that he couldn’t really name yet that he didn’t realize that the elevator doors were already closing between them again. Only when Felicity reached out her hand and stopped the doors from closing, Oliver snapped out of his state of being unable to move or speak.

“I think we need to talk,” he stated with quiet voice.

Felicity looked at him for a long moment before she nodded. “Yes, we do.”

She turned around on her heels and headed towards her office. Oliver took in a deep breath, gathering his courage to go into this confrontation, and followed her eventually. Though his eyes were mainly focused on Felicity’s back, Oliver didn’t miss the curious look her assistant shot them over the edge of the papers he was reading.

“Gerry, please call Mr. Dennis and tell him I will be a little late for the press conference.”

Gerry quickly nodded his head, reaching for the phone while his gaze continued following them. When he caught Oliver’s eyes, though, the young man hurried to look away and dial a number.

Meanwhile Felicity led Oliver into her office. She stayed at the door when he walked past her. Only when he was in the middle of the spacious room, he turned around to look at Felicity. He watched her closing the door before she turned around to him. Oliver felt his heart fall at the way she looked at him with so much disappointment in her eyes. She bit down on her bottom lip, pushing her hands behind her body and leaning back against the glass wall. He nervously rubbed his thumb against the other fingertips.

For a long moment neither of them said a word. They stayed in this silence, just looking at each other. Oliver suddenly couldn’t remember why he had been angry at Felicity before. If the look on her face was any indication, she was just as unhappy and confused about what was going on here as he was.

“You hired someone new,” Oliver suddenly heard himself whisper without any reproach in his voice.

Felicity kept looking at him for a moment longer before she lowered her gaze to the floor, wordlessly nodding his head. Her voice was so quiet that if it wasn’t for the movement of her lips, he would have probably missed that she even said anything. “Yeah.”

Oliver pressed his lips together, pulling them into his mouth for a moment. He didn’t know what to say to her. He wasn’t even sure if he was supposed to say much. He couldn’t remember that silence had ever felt so awkward between them. Well, maybe it had felt like this during the limo ride right before Felicity had given him the speech about being friends.

Friends – that was what he had told her they were and how he had decided to see their relationship. Yet right after he had left her office that day he had called Isabel had told her he had to quit on special services despite the fact that he was losing a lot of money with that. And instead of telling Felicity when she had asked him in during their next evening together, he had just kept it for himself and pretended that he was still available for special services.

“Why did you-“ Felicity started, but she stopped to look at him once more. She licked her lips and sucked in a breath before she started again. “Why didn’t you tell me that you quit special services?”

Oliver pushed his hands into the pockets of his pants, hunching his shoulders. That was the part that he didn’t quite get himself to be honest. He had told Felicity that they were friends. He had said it again and again to make her know that it was more than a job for him. Yet he had used his job to get close to her. It didn’t even make sense, did it?

Felicity was still looking at him, eying him up closely. He knew she was waiting for an answer. He could see that she wanted to give him a benefit of a doubt. She was disappointed, but she wanted to give him the chance to explain himself. The problem was that Oliver just couldn’t explain himself. He didn’t understand why he had done what he had done, so how should he make Felicity understand that he hadn’t meant to hurt her or to betray her trust. It had never been what he had intended to do, and-

“Oliver?” Felicity asked in a whisper, pulling him from his thoughts.

Oliver shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know.”

He could see Felicity’s disappointment increasing. She hadn’t wanted to hear that, and Oliver understood that. There was nothing more dissatisfying than not getting the answer that you needed.

“I… uhm…” Felicity started. She cleared her throat. “I think it’s better if we part ways here. Obviously we are not just escort and clients, but we aren’t friends either and… uhm… I think we have taken all of this too far, and that is why there is this huge mess now that I actually doubt we can ever make up, so we should just end it here. I told your boss that those discrepancies on the bill were my fault, so you don’t get into trouble. I know you need your job, so…”

Oliver felt his throat closing and his breath faltering. He should have probably known that this was coming, but actually hearing Felicity say those words still hurt quite bad. Gulping down the bitter taste in his mouth, Oliver nodded his head.

“I should probably go then.”

Felicity nodded slowly. “Yeah, probably.”

He kept looking at her, watching the sadness in her eyes increasing. It hurt him knowing that it was at least partly his fault it was there. He hated that the first time he saw Felicity this sad it was because of something he had done. He wished there was anything to say to make it better and to apologize, but he couldn’t think of anything.

When Oliver made no attempt to leave, Felicity eventually perked up her eyebrows, the expression of disappointment and sadness still in her voice. Oliver cleared his throat, gesturing towards where she was leaning against the glass. “The door.”

Felicity’s sucked in a breath, probably remembering the same memory that was playing in his mind. When Felicity had politely kicked him out the morning her mother had come for a visit, she had looked at him expectantly too, completely forgetting that she was still wearing his shirt, though. She quickly stepped away from the door, giving the way out of her office free for him, and walked towards her desk instead.

Oliver looked at the door for a long moment before he slowly nodded to himself and started strolling towards it. His heart was growing heavier with every step as he started to realize that he really couldn’t come up with anything that could make this better. He was almost at the door already when Felicity said his name.

“Oliver?”

He stopped and turned around to her slowly. Felicity stood behind her desk, looking at him indecisively for a moment. Then she took an envelope from her desk and approached him. She stopped an arm's length away from him, still looking slightly insecure about what she was doing. Her fingers moved along the edge of the envelope for a moment before she held the piece of paper out for him.

“What is that?” Oliver asked, making no move to take the paper from her.

“It’s the money I owe you for the two times I… used the special services between our encounter here and… last weekend,” she explained, blushing slightly.

Oliver bit his tongue, trying to ignore the growing ache in his chest. He hadn’t charged her for the special services for another reason than just the fact that he wasn’t officially offering those services anymore. It had also to do with the fact that it hadn’t felt right. He hadn’t slept with her because he was an escort. He had slept with her because he had wanted to do so. Charging her for that had been wrong, especially given the secrets he had kept.

“I-“ he started, shaking his head, but stopped when he realized that he didn’t know what exactly he should say. He pressed his lips together for a moment. “It wouldn’t be right to take it.”

“But I need you to,” Felicity replied, “because I can’t not give it to you either.”

“Felicity, I can’t-“

“Do it for Thea,” she interrupted him. When he looked at her intensely, Felicity quickly added, “I need you to take this money, and I understand that you don’t want to, so just picture it as me investing in your sister’s future.  _ Please _ .”

She said the last word so urgently that despite the painfully twisting feeling in his gut, Oliver lifted his hand. His held the envelope, making sure his fingers didn’t touch Felicity’s in the process. Felicity didn’t pull away, though. She still kept holding onto the envelope too. When Oliver lifted his gaze to her face, their eyes met and locked.

Oliver still didn’t know what he was supposed to say to make this better. He wanted to make it better. He didn’t want to part ways with her like this. He didn’t want to part ways with her at all, but he doubted that there was any way around that right now.

“I’m really sorry, Felicity,” Oliver said in a whisper. “I never meant… I… I am sorry.”

Felicity nodded slowly. “Yeah, so am I.”

They looked at each other for a moment longer before Felicity let go of the envelope and took a step back, releasing a trembling breath. Oliver pressed his lips together, swallowing hard.

“Bye, Felicity,” Oliver said in a whisper.

Felicity smiled at him through her tears, nodding. “Goodbye, Oliver.”

He allowed himself to look at her for only a moment longer before he turned away with heavy heart and aching soul. His steps were slow and dragging on his way to the door. With the door handle in his hand he took in a deep breath. Then he opened the door, stepped outside and closed the door behind him.

And that was it.


	9. Chapter 9

Felicity leaned her head against the cold glass of the car window, closing her eyes with a quiet sigh. She was exhausted and tired from all the work of the last days. On top of that she was also terribly confused and sad about what had happened with Oliver. She still didn’t really understand what had happened between them or why it had come this far. All she knew was that she was really unhappy about it.

Why had he lied his way deeper into her life? He had opened up to her. He had wanted to share things about him and his past with her. He had wanted her to get to know him. That had to mean that it hadn’t all been about the sex. But then why lie about being available for professional sex when he wasn’t? It just didn’t make sense, and the fact that Oliver hadn’t been able to explain it when she had given him the opportunity to had only made it worse.

Now Felicity had to force herself through this terrible work dinner with some of the people from the board, smiling and assuring them that the crisis at the company was taken care of which it was. She had to sit through this dinner with an escort she didn’t know yet by her side and that was the part that really made her stomach hurt. She hadn’t really wanted an escort by her side. She had just wanted to cancel her appointment with Oliver, but Ms. Rochev had sounded like she was going to fire him, so Felicity had told her that she wanted to try some other escorts to find out if maybe someone fit better to her than Oliver did.

She would try to cut the dinner short, so she wouldn’t have to spend too much time with that other escort. She knew it was stupid, but she felt like she was cheating on Oliver and like she was cheating on herself which was even worse. The only reason why she had taken Oliver to any official work occasion had been because she had liked him and had felt comfortable with him. Now she was taking a complete stranger with her, and that just felt terribly wrong.

Felicity wanted to sleep. She wanted to go to bed, pull the blanket over her head and sleep. Maybe when she had regained some energy, she would find out what to do now. She hadn’t wanted to completely part ways with Oliver like she had. There just hadn’t been any other way, had there? He had lied to her though he knew that Felicity had problems trusting given that there had been threats put to her life. They had clearly calmed down for now, but Felicity knew that they still might be there no matter how quiet everything had been lately. Then he hadn’t even been able to say anything that had made it easier for her to understand why he had lied and now Oliver was out of her life.

When a tear escaped the corner of her eye, Felicity quickly wiped it away. Leaning back in the leather seat in the back of the limo, she took in a deep breath before she released the air through her opened lips. She still hadn’t had time to grieve the relationship she might have been able to have with Oliver. Maybe once the dinner was over and she was home she would find the time. On the other hand maybe she should wait until she was really completely certain that everything at the company was back under control before she allowed herself to take the time to do so. The company had to be her priority for now. There were too many jobs and lives depending on it for her to let her whatever-to-call-it with Oliver mess her up and take her focus away from where it was needed.

When the limousine came to a stop in front of the hotel where the dinner with the board members was supposed to take place, Felicity quickly pulled her phone from the inside of her small purse and made sure her makeup was still perfectly in place. She moved her fingers under her eyes shortly before she put her phone back into her purse. Taking a deep breath, Felicity put on a smile and moved down the window that separated the front seat from the back seat.

John, who was sitting in the passenger seat, turned his head to her immediately. Felicity was glad that he had come with her. Now that Oliver wasn’t going to be at her side anymore, she really needed John. He was who had always made her feel comfortable before she had gotten to know Oliver, and Felicity was sure that he would take care of that again. It had little to do with the safety he offered as her bodyguard and a lot to do with the fact that he was her friend.

“You’re okay?” he asked, eyeing up her face closely.

Felicity nodded. “Yes, of course. Could you try finding my plus one please? I told him to wait for me in front of the hotel, so we could talk for a moment before going in.”

John didn’t say a word. He just kept looking at her for a long moment like he was waiting for her to take her words back and pour out her heart to him. She knew that he had seen right through the lie she had told him about being fine. She wasn’t fine, and John knew that. Now was not the time to talk about that, though.

Eventually John nodded and got out of the car. It only took a few seconds before the door to the backseat opened, and for the break of a second Felicity thought John might just slide next to her onto the leather to talk to her despite the bad timing. With a breath of relief Felicity realized that it wasn’t her best friend and bodyguard who got into the car next to her, though. Instead there was a tall man with a dark hair and grey eyes taking seat on the other end of the leather seat bench.

“Ms. Smoak,” he said with slightly stiff voice, looking at her without smiling.

Felicity bit down on her bottom lip, looking at the handsome man with a frown. She felt like she had seen him before, but she couldn’t say it with certainty which was unusual for her since she was quite good at remembering faces most of the time. There was a familiarity in his face that rang a bell, but she really couldn’t say why.

“Hi,” she said with a little hesitation. “And you are…?”

The stranger pressed his lips together for a short moment before he took in a deep breath and answered, “I’m Tommy Merlyn.”

“Oh, frack!”

That was why Felicity felt she should know who he was. She had seen a lot of photos of his father in the newspapers lately. Father and son looked quite alike. They shared the same dark hair, the same grey eyes and some other things Felicity just couldn’t name.

When she had told Ms. Rochev that someone else should escort her from now on, knowing exactly that this was the only entry she still had left and that she would just stop hiring escorts after this, she hadn’t asked for someone in particular. She had let Ms. Rochev make the decision and hadn’t even cared to ask about the result. The only reason why Felicity had hired someone else instead of canceling the whole thing had been so Oliver wouldn’t lose his job. She hadn’t cared about the rest. Now this, being escorted by his best friend, was the worst case possible, one she admittedly hadn’t even thought about when she had told Ms. Rochev to just get her any other escort.

“Oh my god,” Felicity breathed, a deep blush spreading on her cheeks. “I am so sorry to put you into this position. I had no idea you would be my new escort or otherwise I would have asked for someone else. I just didn’t want Oliver to lose his job because of Thea and everything. I don’t want him to lose his friend over this… which is not to say that my non-existent relationship to him would mean any more than your friendship with each other. All I wanted to say was that I know that this can’t be easy for either of you and-“

“Do you always talk this much?” Tommy interrupted her, cocking his head.

Felicity pressed her lips together, rolling them into her mouth. “No?”

Tommy chuckled. “I can see why Oliver likes you this much.”

Her heart stumbled in her chest at his words. It actually had no reason to because she knew that Oliver liked her. She had grown quite confident of that idea no matter what had happened between them these last days. She still believed in this. Oliver really liked her. Hearing someone else say it, someone who knew him so much longer and so much better than she did, still meant a lot to her, though. It was like the final confirmation that she hadn’t only imagined a real connection between her and Oliver.

Well, whatever there had been between her and Oliver was over for now, though. As long as he hadn’t figured out his issues that had led him to lie to her despite of everything, there was just no way for them to continue to be together in whatever way they had been. Maybe once Oliver had found out what had led him to do what he had done, they could together find a way for them to move forward. For now she didn’t think it was possible, though.

Anyway, she didn’t want to make this harder than it already was. This situation with Oliver and her was terribly messy because of how far they had taken this. She didn’t want to make it even more complicated by bringing someone else into this, especially not someone so close to Oliver.

“I understand if you would rather not come with me. I actually think even I would prefer if you didn’t come with me, so-“

“I think if Ms. Rochev finds out that either of us canceled this appointment, Oliver can search for a new job,” Tommy explained.

Felicity nodded slowly. “That is not what I want.”

“I guess neither of us wants this,” Tommy replied with a low sigh, “which is why I think it’s the best that we go through with this as it was planned. I just… Ollie is my best friend, and I can’t… I know that you mean more to him than a client should mean to an escort, and I don’t know how you feel about it, but…”

Tommy stopped, sighing. Felicity looked at him a moment longer before she lowered her gaze. She felt guilty for causing Oliver pain like she knew she had. Yet she knew there had been no way around it. She had had to leave Oliver. This all was just still so new and hurt so much that she really didn’t know what to think or what to feel.

“I don’t even want to pretend to know what has happened between you and Oliver,” Tommy said into the silence after a long moment. “I just… I know some parts of it, but I don’t know the whole story, and I don’t need to know, especially not from you. Ollie will tell me once he is ready to tell me about it. As long as that isn’t the case and the two of you haven’t worked through this, I will be your escort and-“

“I don’t need you to be my escort,” Felicity interrupted him, looking at Tommy. “I mean… This is the last time I will hire an escort. The only reason why I kept hiring Oliver was because I liked him. I don’t… I just…”

For the first time in a long time Felicity felt a complete loss of words. She didn’t know how to explain this to someone, especially someone who didn’t know her at all, so she just shook her head, shrugging her shoulders.

“I understand,” Tommy replied quietly. “I just need you to know that I can’t offer any special services with you because-“

“I don’t want special services with you either,” Felicity replied quickly, feeling a blush spreading from her face down her neck to her cleavage. “I mean you are quite handsome obviously, and Oliver might have told me that you are really good at your job, but I really don’t want to cross that line with you. I already crossed it with Oliver, and look at where this got us, right? Anyway, I really don’t want to-“

“Got it,” Tommy replied with a slight frown on his forehead. “You really don’t need to repeat the fact that you don’t want to sleep with me this often. It’s starting to bruise my ego.”

Felicity pressed her lips together though she was smiling slightly. Tommy just shook his head, chuckling quietly.

“I suggest we go in there, have dinner with these people and then part ways like nothing ever happened,” Tommy explained.

Felicity nodded. “Yes, that sounds like the best solution to this.”

“Good,” Tommy replied with a smile, releasing a sigh of relief. “That went a lot better than I thought it would.”

Felicity had to agree. Though having Tommy as her escort was the worst case scenario given his connection to Oliver, at least he understood where she was coming from. She didn’t have to pretend to have hired him because she had wanted to. He knew that the only reason she had hired him was to save Oliver’s job, and that was worth a lot.

“What name are you using for your job?” Felicity asked.

“Connor Rhodes,” Tommy replied. “Do we need a cover story?”

Felicity shook her head. “No. I doubt anyone will ask. They are too focused on the problems at the company. I will make something up in case they ask after all.”

She remembered all too well how she and Oliver had easily agreed on their cover story. They hadn’t liked operas, so they had made up the story of meeting in a cinema. The only time they had really told that story had been when Felicity had run into him and Thea after her boring date with Ray the night Felicity and Oliver had…

Tommy looked at her for a moment before he asked. “Will someone ask about Oliver?”

It was a question Felicity had already thought about too. The thought had come to her mind when she had gotten ready for the evening. She wondered why she had never asked herself what would happen if she stopped hiring Oliver or maybe she had wondered about it and just forgotten?

“I hope not,” Felicity eventually replied and took in deep breath before she suggested, “I guess we should go.”

Tommy nodded. “Are you ready?”

Felicity took in another deep breath before she released it with a low sigh. The terrible stomachache she had felt before was gone by now. There still was this uncomfortable feeling in the pit of her stomach, but it wasn’t hurting as much as it had before. She still didn’t feel exactly happy about this evening, but at least she knew that Tommy understood and hence wouldn’t make it harder for her than it was already.

Tommy opened the door of the car and held out his hand to help Felicity to get out. She accepted it though she didn’t really needed his hand, assuming that it was part of being a gentleman. Oliver had always liked to help her out of the car too. Actually, even John did so when they were alone. Somehow men seemed to think women were unable to get out of a car on their own. Well, if that was the only thing they thought she couldn’t do, Felicity didn’t mind. There were a lot more important abilities to her than getting out of a car on her own.

While Felicity linked her arm with Tommy’s, she found John’s eyes. He looked at her urgently, and Felicity gave him a nod of her head to make him know that she was okay. His eyes turned to Tommy then and looked at him closely for a long moment.

“You lead the way. I will follow,” John suggested, gesturing towards the stairs that led to the hotel.

Tommy looked at Felicity. “Shall we?”

She smiled at least partly convincible, nodding her head. “Let’s go.”

 

Oliver felt the need to lean his forehead against the cold window of the car and close his eyes to forget everything around him for just a short minute. He was tired and exhausted after he hadn’t slept much these last nights. He had spent every waking hour trying to find out why he had lied his way into Felicity’s life when actually the friendship they had had would have been all reason he had needed.

He still didn’t understand. He didn’t understand himself, and he had never been more frustrated with himself or anything than now. Even when his parents had died and Thea’s and his guardian had wasted all their money, at least he had been able to tell himself that sometimes life just sucked. What was he supposed to say to himself now that he had sabotaged himself, though? It just didn’t make sense.

In a lot of ways his own feelings weren’t even the worst part of it. Oliver was so used to feeling lost in this world and in his life that he wasn’t surprised about it anymore. Sure, he was frustrated, but he should probably be used to being frustrated by now. He had been frustrated so often in his life. This mess just pushed the limits of his frustration tolerance even more.

What really hurt him, though, was the memory of Felicity’s face when he had last seen her.  Subconsciously he had certainly known that he was hurting her by betraying her trust and lying to her the way he had. It had never been his intention, but in the back of his mind he had probably always known that he was doing it. He just hadn’t known how bad it really had been before it had been too late and she had looked at him, pleading with him to explain his actions to her in a way that made sense. Then, when he had been unable to give her the explanation she had needed and deserved, she had ended whatever there had been between them.

Oliver knew there was no denying that he was hurt too. His heart was aching thinking about what could have been between them, and what had ended before it had really begun. He knew Felicity had had every right to demand some space, especially after he hadn’t been able to explain himself. The only one Oliver could blame for both of their pain was himself.

Oliver’s hand clenched to a tight fist, knowing that at the end it always came back to this. Whatever there had been between him and Felicity hadn’t ended because he had lied per se. It had ended because he hadn’t been able to give Felicity any reason to trust him despite this lie. He hadn’t been able to explain himself because he didn’t really understand what he had done, so why should Felicity understand? She had given him the benefit of the doubt and asked him for an explanation instead of ending it immediately, and only when he hadn’t replied, she had ended things.

Now he was sitting in the back seat of a limousine on his way to an appointment with a new client that was sitting next to him and talking without him hearing a word of it. Meanwhile Felicity was having dinner with some members of the board and Tommy. The thought made his stomach twist painfully.

He missed Felicity. The time they had spent together had been great. When he had been with her, especially that one night after her date with Ray and the morning after had been when he had felt the most content and happy in a long time. He trusted Felicity with his life story and with his feelings, and she had proved to be wonderfully understanding of the troubles he had had in life, but he had lost her.

At the end it always came back to this. No matter how amazing Felicity was and no matter how wonderful things between them had been he had lost her.

“Jonas?”

His name coming from his client’s lips pulled Oliver from his thoughts. He quickly put on a forced smile, looking at the redhead. “I am sorry. You were saying?”

The redhead – what was her name again? – sighed quietly, obviously slightly annoyed that he hadn’t listened. He couldn’t exactly blame her. He had been terribly inattentive since he had gotten into the limo twenty minutes ago. The truth was he wasn’t in the mood to go out on a date, no matter how professional the reasons for that were. Actually he hadn’t been been in the mood for these dates since that night he and Felicity had had sex on the backseat of a limousine – a limousine that was quite similar to this one to be exact.

Oliver should have quit his job once he had realized he was starting to develop feelings for Felicity and most of his thoughts had started to revolve around her. He hadn’t been able to sleep with other clients without remembering how her skin felt beneath his fingertips when he was touching her and how she looked when her pleasure was increasing or the sounds she made when she fell apart in his arms. He had known that it was wrong to think about her like that, so once he had finally decided to go to Felicity and try being friends with her, he had called Isabel and quit the special services. He didn’t remember if he had wanted to tell Felicity that day about it already. He just knew that once he had seen how stressed she was, he had wanted to relax her and sex had seemed like the easiest way to do so.

Then he had spent that one night with Felicity that had seemed to reinforce whatever there had started to develop between them. Again it would have been time to quit being an escort for good, but he hadn’t. It was his job, and Thea’s time in college depended on it, but he knew it wasn’t the only reason why he hadn’t quit. There was something more. Oliver just hadn’t figured out what exactly that was.

“Jonas?”

His client’s – her name was Carrie, Oliver remembered now – voice had grown even more annoyed. Oliver knew already that she wasn’t going to be a regular client. He was lucky if she didn’t fire him before they had even made it into the restaurant. Isabel would kill him if he messed this up, so he quickly put on a smile, hoping it looked only half as forced as it felt.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “My thoughts seem to be really distracting today.”

Carrie made a face, obviously not satisfied with his answer. She released a loud breath before she stated, “So I told my former classmates that we met in an opera. We had some dates, and it is getting quite serious. You could also drop some hints about planning on proposing. It’s like an open secret between us that the engagement is coming soon. Oh, and you should know that…”

While Carrie kept going on and on about how she wanted this evening to go and how she wanted him to act, Oliver took in deep breaths. He tried to focus on his client’s words, but he was so terribly disinterested in what she wanted that it was hard to listen to her at all. That was why he just watched her lips moving without listening to her. He just nodded his head every once in awhile and prayed that hopefully this evening would be over rather sooner than later.

Once Carrie had stopped talking, Oliver nodded his head one final time. “Okay, let’s go then.”

Without waiting for her approval Oliver opened the door at his side and left the limousine. He took in a deep breath, enjoying the way the cold air prickled in his lungs. It cleared his head from the headache he had and allowed him to breathe deeply. Oliver took his time to walk around the limo and open the door on Carrie’s side. She reached out a hand for him to help her out of the car and Oliver did. Once she was safe on her feet, Oliver intended to pull his hand back, but instead Carrie linked her arm with his, almost snuggling to his side. Oliver felt his body growing stiff, displeased by Carrie being so close to him. Instead of verbalizing that he just put on a forced smile.

“Ready to go?” he asked with strained voice.

Carrie smiled. “Yes. Let’s go.”

While they went up the stairs to the hotel restaurant, Carrie explained to him once more how important it was that her former classmates knew that she was in a happy relationship. If he didn’t know that every wrong move could cost him his job, he would shake his head and laugh about this. Being in a relationship was what she wanted to use to impress her former classmates?

The first time Felicity had hired him had been to impress some businessmen, but she had decided against it because she hadn’t wanted to pretend that she needed a man in her life. When she had later hired him, it had been because she had wanted to spend time with him. It had been her decision, not someone else’s. That was something people should be impressed about -- that and the fact that she was leading a multi-billion corporation though she was faced with actual threats to her life because of said company.

Oliver opened the door for Carrie, relieved that she loosened her arm from his to step into the hotel first. When Oliver followed her, he almost expected her to link her arm back with his, but instead Carrie saw a group of people and immediately hurried towards them. Oliver watched her hugging some of them from his spot at the door, taking in another deep breath to focus on this. He put on a smile and had just put a first step forward when-

“God, all I want to do know is get out of this dress and crawl into bed.”

At the sound of the familiar voice Oliver turned around. His eyes found Felicity immediately. She wore a wonderful green dress that fitted her form perfectly. The low neckline made him see just enough to spark his fantasy or rather his memory since he knew exactly what he would find if she took that dress off. She looked stunning like always, her hair pinned-up and her full lips painted in a deep red.

Tommy was walking next to her with his hands pushed into the pockets of his coat. There was no contact between the two of them. They were actually standing almost two feet apart from one another. Tommy looked slightly uncomfortable, looking back and forth between his friend and his client. Oliver and Felicity stared at each other, unsure of what to say or to do now, so they just stood there, not saying a word and not doing anything.

“Alone,” Felicity suddenly said, and it took Oliver a moment to realize that it was probably meant as an addition to what she had said before about getting out of her dress and into bed. He wasn’t sure if she had meant to add it or she was just saying it because of him now.

Again silence settled as they continued to look at each other. When Felicity lowered her gaze to his hand for a short moment, Oliver realized that he was rubbing his thumb against the tips of his fingers nervously. He quickly clenched his hand to a fist, squeezing his thumb forcefully.

“Hi, Felicity,” Oliver eventually whispered barely louder than a breath.

Felicity smiled insecurely, a blush spreading on her cheeks. “Hi.”

Oliver felt his heart picking up pace, beating strongly against his ribs. He pressed his lips together, waiting for Felicity to say something more, but she stayed just as silent as he was. Oliver tried to think about what he could say frantically, but nothing came to his mind, so silence settled between them once more. He wanted to say something, but he just didn’t know what he could say that wouldn’t sound awkward.

Just when the tension that had built between them grew too much for him to bear, Oliver took in a breath and wet his lips to ask her how she was doing. They were interrupted before he could even get a sound out, though.

“Jonas?” Carried called over from where she was standing with her friends. When Oliver looked in her direction, she gave him a meaningful look. “Babe, come here. You gotta meet my friends.”

Ignoring the way Carrie’s words made him feel like he was a little puppy called by its owner, Oliver slowly looked back to Felicity just in time to see her taking in a deep breath before she put on a smile that he knew wasn’t real because it didn’t reach her eyes at all. She quickly knotted the waistbelt of her coat and opened her mouth to say something. When there wasn’t a sound coming from her lips, she just pressed her lips together, shrugged her shoulders and waved goodbye awkwardly. The next second she was already hurrying towards the door.

Oliver felt his heart sinking in his chest. He didn’t know what he had expected from seeing Felicity again so soon after they had decided that it was best to part ways. Whatever he had subconsciously expected had probably been more than this, though, because why else the disappointment?

Tommy shrugged his shoulders awkwardly before he ducked his head and followed Felicity outside. Oliver gazed after his friend and Felicity for a moment before-

“Jonas?”

At the sharp tone in Carrie’s voice Oliver quickly put on the same forced smile from before, knowing that it looked even less convincing than it had before, and hurried to Carrie and her friends.

“I am so sorry,” he said quickly, only faltering shortly when Carrie’s nails clawed into the fabric of his sleeve. “Hi, I am Jonas.”

Some of the people reached out their hands for him, and Oliver shook them, listening to Carrie’s introductions carefully. He couldn’t allow himself to mess this up. He had to focus now. So he smiled through the introductions, shook hands and answered to the seductive gazes of some of the women with a wink. His head still wasn’t really in the game, but he was much more focused than he had been before.

At their way to their table, Oliver did his best to gather his concentration once and for all. It wasn’t exactly hard to remember that he needed to focus with Carrie’s nails digging deeper into his clothes as a reminder.

“Do you think he really is her boyfriend?” he heard someone behind him whisper so quietly that he was sure he wasn’t supposed to hear it.

“I don’t know,” a different voice replied, “but even if he is, have you seen how he has looked at that blonde in the foyer?”

“Well, it was hard to miss. I thought they would go at it right there,” the first voice answered again.

Oliver pressed his lips together, stopping himself from turning around to them and telling them to mind their own damn business. He shot a look at Carrie instead, making sure that she didn’t hear any of that. Luckily he found her chatting animatedly with a man to her left, unaware of what her friends were talking about.

“Poor Carrie,” one of them said, “always the rebound.”

“At least he is a hot rebound,” the other replied. “I would dump my boyfriend to rebound with that guy too.”

They both giggled, while Oliver only took in a deep breath. This was going to be a long evening.

 

“Lyla, this was the best dinner I had in a long time,” Felicity said, putting the plates into the dishwasher. “Thank you so much for inviting me over.”

“Sure,” Lyla replied with a smile and put the boxes with the remaining food into the fridge. “We haven’t done this in far too long. You must have started to think that we didn’t like you anymore which just isn’t true.”

Felicity smiled, closing the dishwasher and stepping in front of Lyla. She put her arms around her friend as much as Lyla’s baby bump allowed and smiled.

“Hey, you are going to be parents now. Of course you have more important things on your mind,” Felicity assured. “Your little baby girl is all that matters now.”

“Well, she is quite important,” Lyla admitted, taking Felicity’s hands and pushing them to the side of her belly where Felicity could feel the baby kick, “but you are still our friend and you are important in our and our baby’s life too. I hope John already mentioned that we are planning on making you godmother.”

Felicity’s smile widened. “He might have said something that left me hoping.”

“In that case I will confirm that you will definitely be her godmother,” Lyla replied. “That is if you want to of course.”

“I would love to.” Chuckling happily, Felicity pulled her friend into a hug. When she felt the baby kicking against her stomach, she quickly pulled back and looked down at Lyla’s belly like she was expecting to see the outline of a foot peeking from under the shirt where she had felt her goddaughter-to-be kicking only a moment before. “Wow, she is quite active in there.”

Lyla chuckled. “Oh, yes, she is. She loves dancing on my bladder like she does right now which reminds me that I really need to pee. Sorry.”

Felicity quickly took a step back, giving her friend free. Lyla quickly turned around and headed to the bathroom. Felicity looked after her for a long moment, smiling contently to herself. She had almost rejected the offer to come over for dinner because she felt like she was still being snowed in with work in the aftermath of what had happened last week with the hole in the security system. She was glad that Lyla and John had basically dragged her here and given her no other chance but to stay for dinner, though. Spending the evening with her friends had been good. They really hadn’t done it in far too long.

Besides, being here stopped her from thinking about Oliver non-stop. It’s been almost two weeks since she had last seen him and that had been in the foyer of a hotel restaurant. Felicity doubted that any other situation had ever been more awkward.

Shaking her head with a sigh, she headed back to the dining room where John was sitting at the table and pouring her another glass of wine.

“Hey, not so much,” Felicity hurried to say. “I can’t stay much longer.”

John chuckled. “You don’t think now that you are here Lyla and I will let you go anytime soon, do you?”

Felicity narrowed her eyes at him, taking the glass of wine he pushed into her direction. She took a sip before she asked, “Are you going to hold me prisoner?”

“We should given that it’s the only way to keep you from working round the clock. Lyla and I have been worried about you lately,” he added with a much more serious tone.

“Worried? About me?” Felicity frowned. “Why?”

“You have been working a lot lately and since whatever there was between you and Jonas-“

“Does Lyla know about Oliver?” Felicity asked quickly.

“So Oliver is his name,” John said slowly before he shook his head. “No, I didn’t tell Lyla about him.”

“But?” Felicity asked, hearing that little word in John’s words without him having to say it.

“But maybe you should tell her, so you can talk to her about whatever happened,” John explained with calm voice. “I understand that you might not be able to talk about this with me because I am a guy after all, but maybe with Lyla you can. You should talk to someone, Felicity, because the more you say that you are fine, the more I am sure that you aren’t. Lyla and I are your friends, and we are always here for you.”

Felicity shook her head. “You are having a baby now. That is what you should concentrate about. What happened between Oliver and me is… it’s really nothing.”

John cocked his head slightly, looking at Felicity for a long moment. “If it was nothing, then why did you two stop meeting?”

Looking away, Felicity started busying herself with the rim of her wine glass. She moved her finger over it slowly and avoided her friend’s gaze. She could still feel his eyes on her face, though. She really didn’t want to talk about this, but she also knew that John wouldn’t let go of it easily. She wouldn’t get to avoid answering him.

“It’s complicated,” she said after a while.

“It always is,” John replied without hesitation. “All I am saying is that I have known you for a while now and the only time that I have seen you really happy was with him. Maybe whatever has happened between you and him can be solved. Sometimes it is worth taking the risk of being hurt. I have to know. I am the bodyguard of an amazing woman.”

Only now Felicity looked back up, seeing her friend smiling at her warmly. Felicity smiled back, grateful that John didn’t push her to tell him more. She knew that if he pushed, she might eventually give in. He probably knew that she wasn’t ready, though.

When Lyla got back to the dining room, she held her hands to her back. John frowned at his wife worriedly. “Hey, everything alright.”

“Just a little backache,” Lyla replied, waving it off. “I think I will go to bed now.”

“I was about to leave anyway,” Felicity hurried to say.

“No, no, you can stay,” Lyla told her. “You and John don’t need to-“

“Actually I have been trying to stop my eyes from falling shut during dessert already,” Felicity explained with a chuckle, quickly downing the wine John had poured her. “Thank you so much for inviting me over. It was very nice, but it is time to leave the two of you and my little goddaughter alone now.”

“Promise me you will come over for dinner more often again from now on,” Lyla said when Felicity pulled her into a hug. “You are always welcome here.”

“Thank you, Lyla,” Felicity replied, tightening her arms around her friend for a moment, before she released her from the hug. “Good night.”

“Night,” Lyla responded before she turned to her husband. “Drive her home, John.”

“Oh, you don’t need to-“ Felicity started, but John already took his keys.

“Hey, if my wife tells me to do something, I do it,” John explained.

Lyla chuckled, moving her hands over her husband’s chest. She straightened up onto her tiptoes and kissed John gently. It was a chaste kiss, but Felicity felt the need to lower her gaze nonetheless. Only when Lyla whispered “drive safe”, she looked back up.

In content silence Felicity and John left the apartment and strolled down the stairs. Felicity watched the small smile on her friend’s face, knowing that the quick kiss with Lyla had put it on his lips. John and Lyla were Felicity’s idea of a perfect couple. They always had been. Even in their everyday actions they seemed so in love with each other that watching them could make Felicity forget about her worries for awhile.

Maybe one day when she could make the time she would be able to build something like they had. She still had this hope though she felt that day moving more and more into the far future the more time passed.

“You know, my offer to talk is still on the table,” John said when they reached the front door of the building.

Felicity chuckled. “I think I’ve had too much wine to talk about anything for the rest of the evening, especially about anything serious.”

John smiled. “Maybe you shouldn’t have chugged the last of the wine the way you did.”

Since she was several steps in front of him, the wine making her walk faster, Felicity turned around to John with a chuckle. She didn’t stop, but walked backwards instead. “You know if you hadn’t poured me that last glass of wine I wouldn’t have had to chug it. I just wanted for your wife and daughter to be in bed, so they could-“

“Felicity, watch out!”

Even without the wine messing with her senses Felicity would have had trouble to understand what was happening because it was all happening so quickly. One moment she was walking backwards and making fun, the next moment John grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him, shouting in alarm at the same time. He pressed a hand down on the back of her head, making sure she was crouched down. His body wrapped over hers, shielding her from a danger Felicity’s couldn’t make out yet. John yelled that they needed to run and Felicity’s feet complied before her brain had caught up on what had happened yet.

She was running in whatever direction John pushed her, staying crouched down and holding her hands over her head like that was the solution to protect them. When they reached the front door to the house and had to stop, so John could unlock it, a bullet hit the window next to the door and the glass shattered. Felicity screeched though she wasn’t sure if the sound really escaped her lips or if it was just in her head.

“Get in!”

John didn’t give her the chance to comply. He just pushed her in as soon as the door was unlocked, and followed right behind her. He closed the door as soon as he was in, pulling Felicity against him and crouching down on the floor with her.

Felicity’s heart was racing in her chest. The loud rushing of blood in her ears made it almost impossible to hear anything else. She was terribly out of breath, her lungs hurting with the struggle to force some air into them. Her whole body was shaking.

What was happening? How was this happening? She had thought she was safe. Everything had been quiet lately. The threats had stopped. Sure, in the back of her mind she had known that maybe it wasn’t over forever, but she hadn’t thought anything like this would happen, especially now. How could she have known? She was-

Only when John framed her face with his hands, making her look at him, she realized that he was talking to her. It took a long moment before his voice was able to cut through the sound of blood rushing in her ears.

“Felicity, are you okay?” John almost yelled at her.

Slowly Felicity nodded.

“Are you sure?” John asked.

And again Felicity only nodded.

“Okay, we'll go upstairs and call the- the po- the police-“

John started panting and he squeezed his eyes shut before opening them wide. Felicity frowned, quickly pushing herself into an upright position, so she could take a look at her friend. When she saw him holding his chest, Felicity quickly pushed his hands out of the way to reveal the wet spot on the right side of his dark shirt. She moved her fingers against the soaked fabric shortly and gasped for breath when she saw the blood on her skin.

He had shielded her. John had seen the attack coming, and he had shielded her, making sure that no harm would come to her. The bloody spot on John’s shirt grew quickly. John’s panting became more desperate, his chest heaving with the quick breaths.

“John?” Felicity asked in a whisper, unable to process what was happening. She lifted her gaze back to her friend’s face to see his eyes roll into the back of his head before his lids closed and the tension ceased from his body. “John!”

Quickly Felicity pushed John’s upper body down, so he was lying flat on his back. She kneeled down next to him, putting her hands to where the bullet must have hit his chest and pressing down on the wound to stop the bleeding.

“John, don’t,” she whispered with a sob. “John, open your eyes.”

John opened his eyes a little, just enough to make her know that he hadn’t lost consciousness completely yet. He opened his lips to say something, but no sound came out. Felicity just shook her head and was about to tell him that he shouldn’t speak now when his eyes closed again.

“John?” she asked, but there was no reaction.

Panic rose in Felicity. He couldn’t die. John couldn’t die. He was going to be a dad. He couldn’t die now and not because of her. He couldn’t die on her. Felicity tried to take in a breath, but the sobs made it almost impossible to force any air into her lungs. She tried to yell, but all that came out where low cries.

Keeping her eyes on her friend’s motionless face, Felicity forced air into her lungs no matter how painful it was and how much her body seemed to be fighting it. Then she yelled at the top of her lungs, “Help me!”

The words echoed through the silent staircase, followed by her sobs.

“Help me,” she cried, much more quietly now, unable to hold back her tears and sobs. Her vision blurred from the tears, and her body started shaking almost violently while she was helplessly watching the blood finding its way from John’s chest through the small gaps between her fingers out of his body. Within a short of time her hands were covered in his blood. He was losing too much blood, and he was losing it way too quickly. Felicity sniffled and another sob escaped her lips. “I need help.”


	10. Chapter 10

Oliver tapped his right forefinger on the dark wood of the bar counter in the rhythm of the throbbing pain in his head. His left hand tightened around the glass of scotch. He had hoped the alcohol would take the headache away or ease it at least, but he had been wrong about it.

What Oliver really needed was a few hours of peaceful sleep. He had been overusing his head lately, still trying to make sense into what had happened between him and Felicity. He hated not understanding what he had done or rather why he had done it, but obviously forcing himself to come up with an explanation for his behavior wasn’t exactly helping with it. It hadn’t brought him even one step closer to finding out the reason of why he had done what he had done.

Taking in a deep breath, Oliver watched the knuckles of his right hand. They were covered with bruises he had been left with after his time in the gym yesterday when he had worked the punching bag with maybe a little bit too much force. He had planned on only getting rid of some of the energy that had bottled up inside of him since he had Felicity had parted ways. He had thought it would help him to clear his head, so he could try to think things through from the start once more, but then all the punching had only increased his frustration and his anger with himself. He had punched the punching bag again and again, almost ripping the thing from the anchoring at the ceiling.

Oliver tightened his hand to a fist before he unclenched it. He repeated the movement several times, realizing that the pain slowly ceased as his hand was getting used to the motion. A few days more and it was probably back to being fine. Well, at least one thing was going to solve itself as he was sure that things with Felicity wouldn’t solve themselves. He would have to solve them, but that was impossible as long as he hadn’t found out why he hadn’t told her that he had officially quit special services and just slept with her because he had wanted to.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Oliver frowned, turning his head to look at his client for the first time since they had sat down at the bar while waiting for their table. She had her head cocked, looking at him with bright eyes. She was giving him the slightest of an encouraging smile.

Great! Now clients offered to listen to his problems. Way to go, Oliver!

“I am sorry. I was distracted for a moment,” Oliver replied quickly and put on a smile, no matter how fake it was. “So how did you and your twin sister get back into the house without your father noticing?”

He had only listened halfheartedly while his client – Shado, Oliver remembered which was a first this week – had told him about the night she and her sister had snuck out to a party through the window. Oliver knew that there wasn’t much missing for him to be fired. The client Isabel had assigned him the night that Tommy had taken over his appointment with Felicity had complained about his work. He knew that the smallest complaint now would be enough for her to fire him. She had almost done so already.

Part of Oliver felt like it would be a relief if he was fired because it would finally force him into action and into finding out how he wanted to continue with his life. Unfortunately, so far he had no idea where his life was supposed to go. He had no idea what other job could be suitable for him, and risking to lose his job without any idea how to earn money was probably stupid. He still needed to pay rent and buy food and everything after all. Besides, Thea needed the money for college.

Despite his question Shado didn’t continue with her story. She just perked up her eyebrows and kept looking at him. This was the third time she had hired him since Oliver had started working here in Starling or Star City as he had to remind himself the city was called now. The first time they had met had been right after he had quit special services. It was good they had never had sex given that the last time he had met a client who had used special services before she had tried to seduce him into making an exception for her. Oliver had had trouble not to lose his patience and tell her to leave him the hell alone. Anyway, the fact that they didn’t have sex didn’t mean that Oliver wanted to talk to her about what was bothering him.

He just shook his head and took a sip of his scotch before he explained, “There is nothing to talk about. You can go on with your story, though. I promise that I’ll listen.”

Shado sighed. “Yes, you do, but it’s no fun with you today.”

“Sorry,” Oliver replied, not really meaning it. “I am just… Today’s just not my day.”

“Well, we all have these days, don’t we?” she asked and nipped at her wine. “Maybe talking about it would make it better, though. I am a good listener.”

Oliver only huffed a bitter laugh and shook his head once more. “Like I said there is nothing to talk about and even if there was, and don’t get me wrong because I appreciate your attentiveness, but I wouldn’t exactly talk about it with you. I like to separate between my job and my private life.”

He frowned at his words. When he had told Felicity that the line between being an escort and being a friend to his clients was blurred, he had felt that it was the truth. Admittedly, he had always thought about those friendships as a one-way-street. He was a friend to his clients, but they weren’t friends to him. Felicity had been the one to tell him that it only worked both ways for her. He didn’t want to blur the lines like this with Shado, but he had wanted to blur the lines with Felicity.

“In that case I just hope you will find your way back to being yourself soon,” Shado stated after a short moment.

“That’s going to be a long way,” Oliver mumbled.

“Even a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

Oliver perked up an eyebrow at her. “Confucius?”

“Laozi, actually,” Shado corrected.

“Never heard of him,” Oliver admitted in response.

Shado chuckled and began to tell him about the philosopher, obviously realizing that trying to convince him to talk to her made no sense. Oliver went back to listening half-heartedly, relieved that his client let go of asking him personal questions without holding a grudge against him for not answering any of them.

Oliver knew he had to make a decision about what to do soon. Doing this job half-heartedly was not going to work. Either he was-

When his eyes fell onto the TV and he found a close-up of Felicity’s face, he felt a stitch in his heart and sucked in a sharp breath. He hated how hearing her name or seeing her face always left him with the aching feeling of longing in his chest, reminding him of how much he had screwed up and how much pain that had caused him. He missed Felicity without seeing her face or hearing her name already, so why did life choose to remind him of the void losing Felicity had left him with again and again?

He had just started turning his eyes back to his hands when the picture title appeared at the bottom of the screen and caught his attention. He quickly locked his eyes back at the screen, feeling his heart standing still in his chest and his breathing getting caught in his throat at what he read there.

_ Assault on CEO of Smoak Technologies _

He read the words again and again, his eyes widening in panic. His whole body went rigid. Only his thumb moved against the tips of the other finger so quickly that he could actually hear the sound of skin rubbing against skin. He wasn’t sure if he really heard it or just imagined it over the loud pounding of his heart. When his chest started burning with the need for air, he sucked in a deep breath.

“Hey, can you turn up the volume?” Oliver asked the barkeeper, only able to rip his gaze away from the TV screen for a split second.

_ …were crossing the street when the first bullets were shot at them. The Crime Scene Unit of the SCPD was able to find several of them on the street and walls of the buildings nearby. Shielded by her bodyguard, Ms. Smoak was able to make her way back to the building. According to a source inside the police, the first police car and ambulance arrived only few minutes later. The police has yet to confirm the name and condition of the victim, but given the crisis meeting at Smoak Technologies that was apparently scheduled for the next hours rumor is going about that Smoak’s condition is critical and… _

“What are you doing?” Shado asked.

“I gotta go,” Oliver simply replied, sliding from the bar stool with his gaze still fixated on the screen. As soon as the report ended, Oliver turned around and left the restaurant in a hurry without looking back once more. As soon as he stepped out of the building and onto the sidewalk, he held out for a taxi, but there was none available right now. Oliver tore his hair, releasing a growl. “Fuck!”

Without wasting even a second thinking about it Oliver turned around on his heels and started running. If Felicity had been shot, she had certainly been taken to Starling General Hospital. It was the city’s only hospital, and Oliver was sure that even if her condition was really bad – a thought that made his stomach twist so bad that he felt nauseated by it – they would take her there before deciding if she needed a specialist. He could just hope that it was true because if they hadn’t taken Felicity there, he had no idea where else she could be and how he would find her.

Mental images of Felicity lying on the operating table popped up in his mind, and it only made Oliver run faster. His mind was going wild, a thousand questions going through his thoughts. Was she in pain? Was she conscious? Was someone with her to make sure she wasn’t scared? Was she scared? She had to be scared. Even if she was unconscious, she had to be scared. Someone just needed to be with her. She couldn’t be alone in this. Someone needed to make her know that she wasn’t alone and that she couldn’t give up.

He had no idea how he made it to the hospital or how long it had taken him. He felt like it took him too much time though the way his legs felt wobbly, his heart was racing in his chest and his lungs were burning told him that he had run as far as he had been able to, maybe even faster than was good for him. He knew he hadn’t been able to make it here any faster, but it didn’t keep him from hoping that he had been here earlier.

Oliver shook his head, shaking the thoughts off of him. It wasn’t the right time to think about this now. The only thing that mattered was that he was here and he could be here for Felicity now. He ran into the hall and right towards the reception where an elderly woman was sitting behind a computer and playing Pac-man online.

“Felicity Smoak,” he said, not caring that he was completely out of breath. “She must have been taken here after a shooting. Where is she?”

“Are you a relative?”

“No,” Oliver replied.

“In that case I cannot give you any information about her condition.”

“I don’t want information about her condition, I want to know where she is!” he yelled and slapped his hand on the counter loudly. “So where the hell is Felicity Smoak?!”

Several people turned their heads, giving him a look. Oliver pressed his lips together and took in a deep breath, trying to calm himself. He knew he had to get himself back under control if he didn’t want to be kicked out. When he looked back at the elderly woman, she looked at him suspiciously over the frame of her glasses.

“If you don’t calm down, I need to call security,” she told him.

“I am sorry,” Oliver hurried to say, taking in another deep breath. “I am really sorry. Ms. Smoak’s a close friend and I really need to know where she is.”

“Like I said before I am not authorized to give information to people who are not family,” she explained. “I need to politely ask you to leave.”

Oliver bit his tongue. He wondered if putting in all his charm was going to help him here like it usually helped him to get things from women. It had been like this since he had been in high school, and he had figured out how to put his charm to the best use. He felt unable to even try putting his charm on, though, so Oliver just nodded and turned around. Feeling the woman’s gaze at the back of his neck, he headed towards the exit. The moment he felt the feeling ceasing, he shot back a look over his shoulder and found her focused back on her online game. Quickly Oliver took a turn to the right towards and followed the signposts to the emergency room.

He had already passed the hallway towards the ORs when he realized what he had seen from the corner of his eye. He quickly turned back around and took a careful look through the glass doors, feeling his breath getting caught at what he saw. He felt tears springing to his eyes and had to move a hand over his face to get a grasp on himself. His fingers were shaking, and he pushed them into the pockets of his pants, taking in a deep breath, before he started walking again, forcing himself to not run.

Once the glass doors slid aside, Oliver got a closer look at the blonde woman that was crouched on one of the chairs. Her body was shaking, quiet sobs escaping her. She had her legs pulled to her chest, her arms wrapped around her legs tightly. Her head was resting on her knees, facing away from her. He didn’t need to see her face to know that it was her, though. He just knew.

Oliver stayed several feet away from her, not wanting to startle her. Only now he wondered if maybe it had been a bad idea to come here. The reason why they had been forced to part ways had been because he had lied his way into her life, almost forcing himself onto her one could say. Maybe she felt like he was doing the same thing again now. He had just felt like he had to come here and make sure she was alright. He still needed to make sure of that Oliver realized, so that was what he would do. He would just make sure that she was alright and then leave her alone if that was what she wanted.

Taking in a breath, Oliver gathered the courage to talk to her. It was only a whisper that was to be heard, though.

“Felicity?”

She quickly lifted her head off her knees and turned her head to look at him. There was dried blood on her face where it mixed with the tears that streamed from her red rimmed eyes. Oliver had to swallow hard to keep from gasping for air. When Felicity raised a shaking hand to tug a strand of hair out of her face, Oliver saw that her fingers were covered in blood too. She had probably tries to wipe some tears away and that way the blood had gotten from her hands to her face.

“Oliver,” she breathed out after a moment.

Oliver nodded quietly. “I just… I needed to make sure you’re alright and… I know I probably shouldn’t be here, but I couldn’t… the thought that something happened to you… I… I just needed to know you’re not hurt… or alone or…”

Only know he really realized what a mess he was. All the horrible thoughts of what could have happened to her and how he might never see her again had gotten under his skin and completely shaken him. He only fully realized it now that he was seeing that Felicity was maybe not alright but at least physically unharmed as it seemed.

When Felicity continued to stare at him, just taking in sniffling breaths from time to time, Oliver looked back over his shoulder and pursed his lips. He massaged the back of his neck, suddenly feeling oh-so-uncomfortable in his skin and at this place.

“I guess I really shouldn’t have come here… I…” Oliver took in a deep breath, trying to stop himself from talking so quickly because it almost sounded like he babbled and since when did he babble? “Is someone here to take care of you? You shouldn’t be alone and I know I am probably the last person you want to have here right now, so I know I can’t take care of you no matter how much I would like that. I just don’t want you to be alone or-“

His ramble came to a sudden stop when Felicity got up and almost threw herself at him. She snuggled herself close to him, resting her ear against his chest and circling his waist tightly. Only when her whole body started trembling almost violently and a desperate sob escaped her lips, his arms came to wrap around her shoulders and he pulled her as close to his chest as possible, keeping her safe and warm in his arms. He ducked his head and pressed a kiss to the crown of her head, only tightening his hold on her when a louder sob escaped her.

“You’re okay,” he whispered to her hair though he wasn’t completely sure that was true. “You’re okay, and you’re safe. I’m here. You’re not alone. You’re okay. You’re okay. You’re okay.”

Oliver didn’t know how long he just held her and whispered the words he hoped had the power to comfort her into her ear. Felicity’s hand clawed into the fabric of his jacket as she was pressing herself closer and closer towards him like she was afraid he was going to leave no matter how often he told her that he was here and he wasn’t leaving.

A little part of him was relieved to have her back in his arms. He wasn’t happy about the circumstances of it, though, and he knew for sure that this wasn’t about him, and he wouldn’t make it about him. What mattered now wasn’t that he and Felicity found their way back to each other or really to each other in the first place; what mattered now was that Felicity was going to be okay. He would do everything to make sure she was alright.

He didn’t know how much time had passed when Felicity suddenly pulled a little back away. She still stayed close, but she leaned away just enough to lift her head from his shoulder. Taking in a sniffling breath, she moved her fingers over the fabric of his white shirt.

“I am so sorry,” she hurried to say with a sob. “I am so ruining your shirt with this and-“

“Felicity,” Oliver whispered and slid his hands from her back up over her shoulders and neck to her cheeks. He framed her face, moving his thumbs over the soft skin that covered her cheek bones. He looked at her intensely, making sure she understood that he meant it when he said, “You can ruin all my shirts if it makes you feel better.”

Felicity took in another sniffling breath and snuggled her face into the touch of her hands. Breathing against the pain he felt for her, Oliver leaned forward and pressed a lingering kiss to her forehead. He was about to wrap his arms back around her when Felicity put a hand to his shoulder and kept him on distance. Oliver felt a stitch in his heart about that, but he had sworn himself to give her the room she wanted and needed. That was why he bit back the disappointment and just looked at her openly.

“If you want me to leave, I…”

“No,” Felicity quickly interrupted him, shaking her head vehemently. “No, I just need to sit down. My legs feel wobbly and-“

“Okay,” it was now Oliver interrupting her.

He squeezed her hand and led her back to the few seats at the side of the wall. He pushed her down in one of them and sat down in the one next to her, never letting go of her hand. Immediately Felicity rested her head against his shoulder, snuggling the side of her body against his. Oliver turned his head and pressed another comforting kiss to Felicity’s forehead.

Neither of them said a word for a long time. Oliver just held Felicity’s hand, moving his thumb over her knuckles. He didn’t know if his presence was comforting to her or if she just needed someone to lean on right now. Either way he was relieved that he was able to be here for her. As long as she felt a little bit better in this situation, it was a good thing and really all that mattered.

When a shiver ran through Felicity’s body, Oliver asked in a whisper, “Are you cold?”

She shook her head. “It’s okay.”

Despite her words Oliver took off his jacket and put it over her shoulders. Felicity’s free hand grabbed the labels of the jacket and pulled them together, savoring the warmth the fabric spent. She looked lost in the large jacket, even more lost than the expression in her eyes already indicated, and it broke his heart to see her like that.

He had no idea what she had been going through the hours before, how scared she had been and how close to losing her life she had been. The thought made his stomach twist. If he had felt so scared for her life, it must have been so much worse for her.

Squeezing her hand, Oliver cleared his throat. “Do you want to tell me what happened?”

“They just shot at us,” Felicity replied with a sob. “They shot at us, and John shielded me and suddenly he was bleeding and-“

Her voice broke, and Oliver squeezed her hand once more, gently stroking her cheek with his other hand. So it had been John who had been shot Oliver realized. He felt his heart break a little more for Felicity. He knew how scared she had been of the threats, but he also knew how much she loved her friend. The fact that he had been shot by the people who had wanted to hurt her must be unbearable. She had already felt responsible for people eventually losing their jobs if she didn’t try to make her possible business partner believe that she had a man in her life. This must be so much worse for her even though it wasn’t her fault.

“It’s not your fault,” Oliver whispered.

“Yes, it is,” Felicity disagreed, pulling away and looking back at her with tear-filled eyes. “If they hadn’t been targeting me, they wouldn’t have shot John and then he wouldn’t be in the OR and Lyla wouldn’t be with the doctor right now to check that the baby is alright and- Oliver, if something happens to John or the baby, it’s because of me and I-“

When her words were drowned by sobs, Oliver put a hand to the back of her head and gently pushed her head to rest against his shoulder again. Felicity let it happen easily, even sliding onto his lap to snuggle as close to him as possible. She curled up into a ball against him, and Oliver wrapped his arms around her as tightly as possible, keeping her from falling apart in his arms and spending as much comfort as he was able to.

Oliver hadn’t been praying in years. Holding Felicity while she was crying and trembling in his arms, he closed his eyes and quietly pleaded with whatever higher power there was that John would made it. John needed to make it because he was sure that Felicity wouldn’t recover if he didn’t, and he needed her to recover. It was the only thing that really mattered.

Felicity needed to be alright and that was why John and his baby needed to be alright, so Oliver would give everything to have her bodyguard and friend survive.

 

Felicity didn’t know how long she had been resting her head against Oliver’s shoulder and just cried, grateful for the comfort and support he offered. She didn’t know how he had found out about what had happened or how he had known where to find her, but it didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered to her right now was that he was here and that she felt a tiny bit better with him at her side. With Oliver’s strong arms wrapped around her, holding her to his chest tightly, Felicity felt like maybe she could get through this without falling completely apart.

Though she was still crying, her body had stopped trembling as much as it had before. She still saw John’s bleeding body in front of her whenever she closed her eyes, but as she pushed her nose against Oliver’s neck and breathed him in, the memories seemed to find their way into her thoughts less easily. It only made her even more grateful for Oliver being there.

The memories of what had actually happened were blurred for her. She remembered the shooting and running back to the house. She also remembered her shock and panic when she had discovered the blood on her fingers and John’s chest. She remembered screaming for help and how neighbors and Lyla had come to their help. She remembered that the police and ambulance had arrived and they had been taken here. She and Lyla had been forced to just wait, but then Lyla had had some pain in her lower stomach and a doctor had taken her to take a look at the baby. Lyla had asked her to stay here, so if there were news of John, at least she was here.

So her best friend was in the OR fighting for his life, and if he made it, they might have to tell him that the stress had caused him and Lyla their baby. And it was all because of her.

“It’s not because of you,” Oliver whispered like he had done before, basically telling her that she had said her thoughts out loud once more. “Whatever happened or will happen is not on you. It’s on the people who targeted you, and I am sure that John will see it the same way.”

Felicity pulled back a little, so she could look at Oliver. Her hand was still holding his tightly. She looked at him pleadingly though she didn’t know what she was pleading for. She just knew that the expression in Oliver’s eyes and the way he moved his hand over her hair calmed her down, at least a little.

“We should go to the bathroom and wash the blood from you,” Oliver eventually whispered, lifting their joined fingers slightly to show her the dried blood that covered her skin. “Come on, we will-“

When Oliver was about to lift her into his arms, Felicity quickly shook her head. “I promised Lyla I’d stay here and-“

“Okay,” he interrupted her immediately with gentle voice. “Okay, so I will just go to the bathroom and get some wet paper towels, okay?”

Though Felicity nodded and slid off Oliver’s lap and onto the free seat next to him, her hand tightened around his fingers. She didn’t want him to leave. As messed up as the situation between them was, he had come here to comfort her and she didn’t want to let go of him. Oliver got up and came to stand in front of her. He lifted their linked fingers to his chest, pressing the back of her hand to his heart for a moment before kissing her knuckles.

“I will be right back, okay?” he whispered, stroking his free fingers over her cheek. “I’ll be back. I am not going to leave you alone.”

With tear-filled eyes Felicity looked at Oliver, and his deep blue eyes showed nothing but honesty. If he said he wasn’t going to leave her alone, then he meant it. Slowly Felicity nodded and disentangled her fingers from Oliver’s. She pulled her legs to her chest, wrapping her arms around them and resting her head on her knees the way she had before Oliver had joined her here. Taking in a deep breath, she closed her eyes and Oliver kissed the crown of her head gently before she heard him leave.

For the umpteenth time tonight Felicity sent a prayer to heaven that John was going to make it and his baby was going to be okay. They just needed to make it.

She still had trouble to understand how all of this had happened. She didn’t understand how people had just started shooting at them and hit John when actually they had wanted to kill her. She had felt so safe lately. Maybe that should have been a warning to her that it was just the calm before the storm, but of course she hadn’t realized that until it had been too late.

How would she be able to live with that? She had barely been able to live with the fear of being attack. How was she going to live knowing that others had gotten hurt or died because of her? Oliver had said it wasn’t her fault and rationally she might agree, but right now it just didn’t feel like that. She did feel like this was her fault, and she did feel like she should be blamed for this.

“Hey.”

As quiet as his voice had been, Felicity still flinched. She took in a deep breath, calming her wildly beating heart.

“Sorry,” she said, turning her head to look at Oliver, who sat next to her.

He shook his head, smiling comfortingly. “Don’t. You don’t have anything to be sorry for.”

Oliver took her right hand from her lap and gently washed the blood away with the wet paper towels he had brought. He did the same with her left hand. Felicity was about to slide back closer to him when Oliver carefully took hold of her chin and gently wiped the wet towels over her cheek. She looked at him with a frown.

“Some of the blood got onto your face,” Oliver whispered.

Felicity swallowed hard, just nodding her head. She hadn’t known that there was blood on her face, and she really didn’t want to think about it now either. She must look terribly pitiful.

“You’re still beautiful.”

Felicity looked at Oliver, finding him smiling at her softly. With a deep sigh Felicity took hold of his wrist and moved Oliver’s hand from under her chin to her cheek, so she could lean her face into his touch and close her eyes. Slowly Oliver’s thumb moved over her cheekbone and angled her head, so he could press his lips to her forehead once more. Silence settled for a long moment that they just sat there with Felicity’s hand holding Oliver’s to her cheek.

“How did you know?” Felicity whispered eventually. “How did you know what happened?”

“I saw it on the news,” Oliver replied with low voice, “and I just needed to check that you were alright. They didn’t know who got shot, but they speculated that it was you and that it was bad, and I just… I needed to see you.”

Slowly Felicity opened her eyes, looking into Oliver’s deep blue ones. His eyes were intense. His gaze seemed to crawl right under her skin, leaving goosebumps in its wake. There was something in the way he looked at her, some unspoken words of fear and strong feelings that made Felicity’s heart stumble in her chest and her breathing getting caught in her throat.

Her stomach tingled in the same way it had the night after her catastrophic date with Ray. Her eyes drifted down to his lips for a short moment before she looked back into Oliver’s eyes. She saw him sucking in a deep breath and clenching his jaw as the tension grew between them.

Felicity lowered her gaze, breaking the moment. She knew now was not the time. Now wasn’t the time to cross the boundaries yet again or the time to even just talk about them. Whatever they would do now, they would regret it.

“Were you working?” Felicity asked eventually to break the silence, lifting her gaze back to Oliver’s face. He nodded slowly, and Felicity frowned in response. “Don’t you lose your job?”

Oliver smiled slightly, shrugging his shoulders. “I might, but I really don’t care. This… you… are more important.”

Felicity swallowed, unsure what to say to that. She had known all along that Oliver cared for her. That hadn’t been the problem between them. The problem had been his lies, and right now she was so confused by everything that had happened between them and then tonight with the shooting that she was so tempted to just forget about those lies now and-

“Felicity?”

Quickly Felicity turned her head to where Lyla was approaching them. Felicity hurried to get up and walked to her friend, hugging her tightly.

“Are you and the baby alright?” Felicity asked in a whisper.

Lyla nodded, accepting the hug easily and resting her head against Felicity’s shoulder. “We are fine. Is there any news on John?”

“No,” Felicity replied, “but that’s a good sign, right?”

Lyla pulled out of the hug and looked at her friend with a teary smile. Felicity squeezed her fingers and nodded to the seats. When she was about to suggest that they should sit down, Lyla said, “I think I will get myself something to drink. I am kind of thirsty and-“

“I’ll do that,” Oliver offered and quickly got up on his feet. He approached Felicity and Lyla and held out his hand. “Hi. I’m Oliver. I’m a… friend… of Felicity.”

Lyla shook Oliver’s hand, looking him up and down quickly for a short moment before she looked at Felicity again. She just shrugged her shoulders, wordlessly telling her friend that Oliver had just come here without her calling him.

“What can I get you?” Oliver asked.

“A water would be nice, thanks.”

Oliver nodded and looked at Felicity. “You?”

Felicity shook her head. She felt like even a sip of water would probably make her vomit right now. The shooting had sobered her. Whatever tipsiness the wine during dinner had made her feel had been gone instantly, but what she had been left with was a terrible ache in her stomach and a feeling of nausea that almost made her feel the bitter taste of vomit on her tongue already.

“I’ll be right back,” Oliver told them and left right after putting his hand to Felicity’s shoulder and squeezing it in silent comfort.

When he left, Felicity looked after him for a moment before she tugged at Lyla’s hand and led her back to the chairs. They sat down next to each other, their fingers tangled between them in a silent way to comfort each other. Felicity took in a deep breath. She knew she had to pull herself together now. As long as Lyla had been with the doctor she had allowed herself to fall apart, but now she had to be strong for Lyla. She had no right to fall apart when her friend was about to lose her husband.

“He is going to be okay,” Felicity whispered though her voice lacked to sound as confident as it should.

“I hope so,” Lyla replied, squeezing Felicity’s hand. “I really hope so.”

“We have to believe it, right? We have to believe that everything is going to be alright.”

“Yeah.”

For a long moment they just sat in silence until-

“Mrs. Diggle?”

Immediately Lyla and Felicity got up, looking at the doctor that approached them quickly.

“How’s my husband?” Lyla asked.

Felicity sucked in a deep breath, her heart racing in her chest. She put an arm around Lyla’s waist and asked with quiet voice, “Is he okay?”

The doctor hadn’t even said a word, he just nodded, but Felicity already felt a heavy weight being lifted from her chest. Lyla released a sob of relief, and Felicity tightened her hold on her friend, dropping her head to her shoulder for a moment.

“Your husband had internal bleedings, but we were able to take care of those. Luckily, the bullet didn’t damage any organs. He will probably need some physiotherapy to gain back more movement in his arm, but he will be fine. He should wake up as soon as the anesthesia ceases which shouldn’t take too long,” the doctor informed them. He smiled at Lyla comfortingly. “You can see him if you want to.”

Lyla nodded immediately. “Yes, please.”

“Nicole?” The doctor turned to a nurse behind him. “Please take Mrs. Diggle to her husband.”

Lyla hugged Felicity shortly before she hurried to follow the nurse, leaving Felicity alone in the hallway. She sucked in a deep breath, closing her eyes. She intended to breathe out slowly, but instead tears started streaming down her face again and the air left her lungs in a loud sob that made her entire body tremble.

“Felicity?”

Without any hesitation Felicity turned around and flung herself at Oliver. She pressed herself as close to him as possible, hiding her face against his chest and letting him hold her as tightly to him as he could. She heard him ask what happened over and over again, but she couldn’t get herself to even form one word. She was hyperventilating and trembling and crying and she couldn’t stop it.

When the fight for air became almost desperate, Oliver put his hands to her cheeks and angled her head back to make her look at him. His eyes were pleading with her, desperation and worry in the way he looked at her.

“Felicity, what happened?” he asked again, urgently this time.

“He’s… He’s…” She tried to tell him, but the words refused to fall from her lips. Felicity grabbed Oliver’s wrists firmly, her nails digging into his skin in a try to hold onto him as tightly as possible. Finally she managed to say, “He’s going to be okay.”

Oliver pulled her back against his chest immediately, wrapping his strong arms around her and just holding her to him while she was crying. His hands moved up and down her back soothingly. His lips pressed to the crown of her head every once in awhile, interrupting the comforting words he mumbled into her hair.

John was going to be alright. He was going to be alright, and his baby was going to be alright. Everything was going to be alright.

Felicity lost all sense for time while she let Oliver comfort her. Eventually the tears dried and her breathing got back to normal. Her legs felt wobbly and her head hurt from all the crying, but she felt the tight feeling that had surrounded her heart in the last hours easing away and that felt like an improvement already. She took in a deep breath, relieved to feel that her lungs didn’t refuse to take the air in anymore.

Closing her eyes with a sigh, she focused on the even beating Oliver’s heart. Her arms tightened around his waist, using her hold on him to keep her legs from giving in. Embraced by the warmth of Oliver’s body and the scent of his skin, Felicity felt safe and sound. She felt the exhaustion of the last hours suddenly taking over her body and she was sure that if Oliver let go of her now, she would just fall to the floor.

“Thank you for being here,” Felicity whispered.

Oliver pressed a kiss to the crown of her head. “You don’t have to thank me, especially not for this. Thanks for letting me be here for you today.”

Felicity looked at Oliver for a long moment. Her heartbeat synchronized with his, so their hearts were beating in unison. She liked being in his arms the way she was. It calmed her down and comforted her. She wished she could just forget about his lie.

“It doesn’t change anything, though,” Oliver whispered, probably knowing where her thoughts had been going from the way her body had tensed.

“No, it doesn’t,” Felicity confirmed. “I’m sorry.”

Oliver smiled, stroking his hand over her hair. “I didn’t expect it to change anything, and you have no reason to apologize. I know I should have told you that I quit the special services, and I wished I could tell you why I didn’t, but the truth is that I still don’t know. I am… still trying to figure it out.”

Felicity took in a deep breath. She was sorry for Oliver because she could see the hurt in his eyes. Even that didn’t change anything, though. She wished it was different.

“You look tired,” Oliver said with a low sight. “Should I call you a cab?”

“I-“

“Felicity?” At the sound of Lyla’s voice Felicity turned her head and found her friend approaching her slowly. “John woke up, and I need to tell his parents and his brother before they figure out about the news. I thought maybe you want to use the time and go see him?”

“Yes, thank you,” Felicity said.

“The room number is 217,” Lyla told her. “It’s the second room to the right.”

As soon as Lyla left, Felicity turned around to Oliver, about to apologize, but he already shook his head with a smile. “Go. Tell John I said hi.”

Felicity nodded with a smile. “I will.”

“Are you going to be alright?” he asked.

“It will take some time, but I think so, yes,” Felicity replied, unsure what else to say. She didn’t know if she was really going to be alright, but admitting that wasn’t going to help her either. She would have to be okay. Tonight she wasn’t ready for that yet. “I gotta go.”

“I know.”

She looked at him for only a moment longer before she turned around and searched for John’s room. She felt Oliver’s gaze on the back of her neck and shot him a look before she rounded the corner into the other hallway. Oliver stood where she had left him, his hands pushed into the pockets of his pants, looking at her with sad eyes. Felicity bit down on her bottom lip, took in a deep breath and with an aching stitch to her heart stepped out of his sight.

She knew that once she was home alone everything that had happened tonight – the shooting as well as seeing Oliver again and feeling so good in his arms despite of what had happened – was going to tumble down on her. Right now she would push down all the feelings that were already bottling up inside of her and visit her friend, though.

When she reached room 217, she knocked quietly. The knock was answered with a quiet, “Come in.”

Taking in a deep breath, Felicity opened the door and stepped into the room. John was lying in the hospital bed, attached to a screen that was monitoring his heartbeat. There was a tube under his nose that provided him with some extra oxygen. His arm was in a sling. He looked a little pale, but he was smiling exhaustedly at her nonetheless.

“Hey,” he said with low voice.

“Hi,” Felicity replied with a sad smile. She closed the door behind her and stepped towards the bed. She sat down at the edge of the mattress and put a hand to John’s cheek before she leaned forward and kissed the other side of his face. “How are you?”

“I’m fine,” he told her.

“You’re sure?” she asked.

John nodded. “Yes. It’s really not as bad as it looks. Besides, it was all for a good reason.”

Felicity smiled sadly, a single tear rolling down her cheek. John lifted his unhurt arm and wiped the tear away with his thumb.

“Please don’t get me wrong,” she whispered. “I am very grateful that you saved me. You were my hero tonight. I still wished you wouldn’t have gotten hurt because if you hadn’t made it or-“

John shook his head, put his hand to hers and squeezed her fingers gently. Felicity stopped talking and looked at her friend instead.

“I am fine,” John assured her once more, “and so are Lyla and the baby. Nothing bad happened and reveling in the past and the what-ifs it holds is useless. The only thing that matters now is that we find out who was behind the attack.”

Felicity shrugged her shoulders. “I left to go with you to the hospital. I am not sure what the police found out.”

John nodded. “We will take care of that, but first I need some sleep.”

“Of course,” Felicity replied with a smile. “I will wait until Lyla is back, and then I’ll leave the two of you alone.”

“I don’t want you to go home alone tonight,” John told her. “I don’t want the shooter to try his luck again. Can Oliver take you home and stay with you for the night?”

“How do you know that he…?” Felicity asked. John nodded and tugged at the lapel of Oliver’s jacket she was still wearing, and Felicity bit down on her bottom lip. “Oh.”

She could still smell the scent of his skin that came from his jacket, but she was so used it that she hadn’t even realized she was still wearing his jacket. Felicity sighed and lifted her gaze to look at John, shrugging her shoulders.

“You called him?”

Felicity shook her head. “He heard what happened and wanted to check on me.”

John smiled. “Sounds like a good guy to me.”

“It’s… complicated.”

“It always is,” John replied in a whisper, “which is why we shouldn’t make it even more complicated.”

Felicity frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that sometimes we make complicated situations even more complicated than they already are,” John answered without hesitation. “I don’t know what happened between Oliver and you. I am sure that you had your reasons to stay away from him lately, but I also think that it’s quite obvious you care about him and he cares about you. You have been happy when he was around you. Maybe that is the only thing that really counts right now.”

Felicity sucked in a deep breath, releasing it with a sigh. “I wish it was that easy.”

“You can make it that easy,” John told her.

“Not so sure about that,” Felicity replied. “He… lied to me and… and he can’t even say why. I think Oliver needs to figure out a few things for himself before we can move on… if we can move on.”

“Do you think Oliver lied to you to hurt you?”

“No,” Felicity hurried to say. “No, I think he… I don’t know…”

John smiled and squeezed her hand. “Then maybe you can figure it out together.”

Felicity sighed. “I don’t know.”

Could they really figure it out together? Felicity was sure that Oliver hadn’t wanted to hurt her. She knew he felt sorry for hurting her and regretted it. She also knew that it hadn’t been easy for him in the past. The intimate details of his life that he had entrusted her with were proof of that. She was sure that he had had reasons for lying to her even if he didn’t know what reasons those were yet. She also knew that she still felt comfortable around him. Whatever connection they had built was real despite of what had happened between them because he had trusted her in a lot of ways.

“The only time I have seen you really happy and relaxed was with him,” John told her. “And… life’s too short, Felicity.”

Felicity sucked in a deep breath and bit down on her bottom lip. John had almost died tonight. She could have died tonight.

“I am scared he is going to hurt me again.”

“That’s human,” John told her, squeezing her fingers, “but maybe you can tell him that and start there. Or you start with telling him that if he hurts you again, I will snap his neck.”

Felicity chuckled and kissed John’s cheek. “You are the best.”

“I mean it,” John growled before his facial expression softened again. “Maybe the happiness you are feeling when you are with him is worth risking your heart once more.”

“You think?”

John sighed. “At the end it’s up to you, but I think that you could use some more happiness in your life, and if Oliver is the one who is able to give that to you, then I do think you should give it a try. And you should do so soon.”

Felicity bit down on her bottom lip, still thinking about John’s words, when she realized the way he looked at her. She perked up an eyebrow. “You mean ‘soon’ as in ‘now’?”

“Hey, I almost died tonight. I am all in for carpe diem. Maybe it’s because I am high on painkillers, though,” John replied with a chuckle, looking at her for a moment longer before he nodded to the door. “Go.”

“My Superman and Yoda in one day,” Felicity said with a soft smile and kissed John’s cheek once more. “You are the best.”

“Maybe we should add ‘Superman’ and ‘Yoda’ to my job title,” John suggested with a grin.

“We should,” Felicity agreed. “I am definitely not paying you enough for the services you offer.”

She kissed his cheek once more before she hurried to the door, only turning back around to blow him a kiss from the door. When she opened it, Felicity almost bumped into Lyla, who just came back with her phone still in her hand. Felicity quickly said goodbye to her friend and hurried out of John’s room and with fast steps headed back to the hallway where she had been waiting before.

Felicity didn’t know what she wanted to say to Oliver. She didn’t even know if they had a chance to make it. She didn’t know how they could work through this issue and move on at the same time. Yet she knew that John was right and life was short which was why you had to take every chance of happiness you were offered. Oliver had been the first man in a long time to really make her happy, so maybe, just maybe they could find a way to work through this together like John had suggested. She at least had to give it a try, right?

Before she stepped into the hallway, she already called his name. “Oliver?”

Only a split second later Felicity rounded the corner into the hallway where she had waited before. She stopped and stood still, looking into the empty hallway. There was nobody here.

Felicity took in a deep breath, feeling disappointment spreading in her chest. She should have known that Oliver had left. Why should he have waited? She had told him that nothing had changed between them, and she had wanted to go and see John. He had had no reason to stay here and wait for her to get back just to be rejected by her once more.

Maybe it was better this way, Felicity told herself. At least she could take counsel with her pillow this way because hadn’t she already known that no matter what would happen tonight they might regret it tomorrow? Relationships that were based on intense experience never worked, right? Wasn’t that a movie quote?

No matter how hard Felicity tried to tell herself that it was better this way, she couldn’t help the feeling of sadness that settled in her chest and spread there because the truth was that she missed Oliver and she wanted him back in her life. They just needed to figure out a way how that could work.


	11. Chapter 11

Lightly tapping her forefinger against her coffee mug, Felicity stared at Oliver’s name on the display of her phone. Her thumb was hovering right over his name. Burying her front teeth in her bottom lip, she wondered once again in these last days whether she should try to call Oliver. These last days she had called him uncountable times already, but almost every call had gone straight to voicemail. The few other ones had been taken by an automatic voice answering that had told her that he was not available.

Since the night in the hospital when she had cried in his arms, scared of losing her friend and still in shock what had happened to them, she hadn’t seen him or talked to him again. Hence she hadn’t gotten around telling him that maybe they had a chance after all.

Felicity had thought a lot about her decision to give Oliver another chance and try to figure out why he hadn’t trusted their friendship and why he had chosen to lie to her instead of telling her the truth. Felicity didn’t doubt that they had issues as individuals that they needed to work through individually. Some support wouldn’t hurt though, right?

Felicity took the last sip of her coffee before she started to tap her finger against the mug once more. She sighed quietly, focusing back on his name on the display. Given the lack of contact with Oliver these past few days she had had a lot of time to decide if she really wanted to give him another chance or if her decision to do so had only been a result of the experiences of that night and the comfort Oliver had offered her. It hadn’t. Felicity hadn’t decided to give him another chance because of the intense experience that night had put her through. She had decided to give him another chance because she enjoyed spending time with him and she liked him. She liked him a lot actually.

“Screw it,” Felicity mumbled to herself.

She tapped her thumb on his name on the display of her phone and held her phone to her ear. Holding her breath, Felicity tried to think about what to say. Oliver had wanted another chance or at least she thought he did. She had told him that no matter how much he had comforted her, it didn’t change anything between them. Maybe he had accepted what she wanted and decided to let her go. She couldn’t blame him. She had wanted to be left alone. She had just changed her mind about it.

_ The person you are calling is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later. _

With a low sigh of disappointment Felicity hung up. She had no idea how she could reach Oliver or if she should even try to reach him in the first place. Maybe a clean cut was what was best for both of them because that way they could move on. Maybe what there had been between them was just too complicated to ever really work.

The least Felicity had to do was letting him know that he had a choice though, right? So far she had been the one to make the decision. She had stopped hiring Oliver and had asked him to leave her alone. She hadn’t given him a choice because she hadn’t been ready back then. Now she was ready to give him the choice. They could try to be a part of each other’s life if it worked and if he was willing to give it a try. It was just kind of difficult to offer him this choice if he didn’t pick up his damn phone or at least called her back.

She had tried to think about how else to reach him. Her first idea had been to contact the agency, but she knew that was a terrible idea. Ms. Rochev would grow suspicious if Felicity asked her for Oliver’s address, and eventually he would lose his job. The agency was the only way she really saw to contact Oliver, though. That was why she was stuck.

“Do you want another coffee?” the barista asked, smiling at Felicity.

“Uhm…” Felicity took a look at her watch. She still had one hour until her next meeting, so there was definitely time for more coffee. If she drank more coffee now, she wouldn’t get to drink another mug during the meeting, though. She was still trying to limit her daily dose of coffee and-

“I don’t know about her, but I would take one.”

Felicity turned her gaze to where Tommy was stepping next to the barista. She took in a deep breath, watching Oliver’s best friend closely for a moment. They hadn’t met again after that one dinner he had accompanied her to. Felicity didn’t want to hire an escort anymore and with things standing still between her and Oliver there hadn’t been any other chance they could have met. Besides, Star City kind of had a lot of places to go, so they hadn’t even accidentally run into each other until now it seemed.

“Tommy,” Felicity whispered.

Her breath got caught in her throat when she started wondering about what he was doing here. Had he come here because he knew that she had tried to contact Oliver and could tell her how to reach him? Or had Oliver told him to go find her, so he could tell her that she should leave him the hell alone because she obviously didn’t get the message he tried to send by not answering her calls or calling back? No, that couldn’t be it. Oliver would tell her himself if it was like that. Besides, he had come to the hospital to comfort her and he had looked kind of disappointed when she had told him that it didn’t change anything between them. He wanted this ‘them’ as much as she wanted it. At least Felicity hoped so.

“I don’t need anything, thanks,” Felicity finally managed to say.

Her gaze was still focused on Tommy, but obviously the barista understood that Felicity’s words were directed at her because she nodded and headed back to the bar. Tommy stepped forward and put a hand to the back of the chair at the opposite side of the table.

“Mind if I sit down?”

Felicity quickly shook her head. “No, of course not. Please have a seat.”

She watched Tommy carefully, almost like she was afraid that in the moment she looked away he would disappear. This was the closest she had been to hearing something of Oliver since that night in the hospital. She couldn’t lose that now.

Felicity did realize that she might sound a little desperate, but things between her and Oliver had been so wonderful when they had suddenly ended as quickly as a bubble burst. Then they hadn’t talked in days, had spent an intense, non-sexual night in a hospital that had made Felicity realize that maybe there was still a chance. Now again days had gone by without any contact. So, yes, Felicity was kind of desperate to get some movement on this whole problem.

“How have you been?” she asked, trying to sound casual.

Admittedly she didn’t real care about the answer. She liked Tommy as far as you probably could like someone after a short work dinner together. At least he had seemed nice, so she wasn’t completely uninterested in his well-being. She hoped Tommy was alright. He deserved to be alright. He was Oliver’s best friend, so it was probably good if he was alright. It was just that-

“I think we should skip the small talk and catch up on that some other time,” Tommy suggested, effectively ending the ramble that was going on in her mind.

Felicity released a sigh of relief. She kind of disliked small talk in general, but in this situation it was even worse. She wanted Tommy to be alright, but all she really wanted to hear about Oliver now, so…

She cleared her throat. “I guess you know that I tried to reach Oliver?”

Tommy nodded. “Yes, he told me.”

Felicity bit down on her bottom lip, already feeling her heart sinking for some reason she wasn’t actually sure of. It wasn’t like Tommy had told her that she should let go of Oliver and let him move on, so she added quietly, “He didn’t take my calls and he didn’t call back.”

“I know,” Tommy replied immediately, crossing his arms in front of his chest and resting them on the edge of the tabletop. He watched her for a long moment, his eyes slightly narrowed and his lips pursed. It took a while until he broke the silence and explained, “Oliver doesn’t know that I am here.”

“How did you know where to find me?”

Tommy shrugged his shoulders. “Oliver might have mentioned that you are a coffee addict, so I checked what coffee shops there are near your company and hoped I would be able to find you here.” Felicity perked up an eyebrow at him and Tommy cleared his throat. “I know it sounds like I am a stalker which is particularly bad given your latest experience with- Speaking of how are you after what happened?”

“Uhm… I- I’m-“ Felicity stuttered, taken aback by the sudden change of the subject. She gathered herself for a moment before she put on a fake smile and whispered, “I’m fine.”

She doubted that it was really true. It had been more than two weeks now since the night that someone had tried to shoot her and the bullet had hit John instead. Of course the police hadn’t found anything. They were no step closer to finding out who had been the shooter than they had been in that night. Felicity didn’t know if they even truly investigated this. The police suspected that it had been a hired killer that was probably impossible to find anyway. It didn’t surprise Felicity much. The people who wanted her dead were rich business people. They wouldn’t sully their hands by trying to kill her themselves. No, they just hired someone to do the job for them.

Felicity tried not to think too much about what had happened that night and what might happen in the future. She knew that she couldn’t just ignore the danger she was in, but she couldn’t live in constant fear either. Luckily, the problems at work and the troubles between her and Oliver allowed her a lot of distraction.

Tommy looked at her with doubt in her eyes and for a second Felicity thought he was going to say something. Not giving him the chance to do so, she asked, “How is Oliver doing?”

“He’s…” Tommy started and puckered his lips, “changed.”

Felicity frowned. She was about to ask him what that meant when the barista stepped back to their table and put a mug of coffee in front of Tommy. She smiled at him, obviously delighted by his handsome appearance.

“Can I get you anything else?” she asked. “A slice of cheesecake or some other cake maybe?”

Tommy smiled at the waitress shortly. “No, thanks.”

She stayed at their table for a moment longer, probably thinking about how she could prolong the almost inexistent conversation with Tommy. After twenty seconds she finally released a quiet sigh, turned around and walked away. Felicity shook her head about her slightly before she turned back to Tommy, who looked after the barista, his eyes focused on her ass. When she perked up her eyebrow at him and he caught her gaze on his face, he quickly cleared this throat.

“Sorry.”

Felicity just shook her head with the slightest of a smile. “What about Oliver now?”

“He quit.”

“He what?” Felicity asked back immediately, her eyes widening slightly.

“He quit,” Tommy repeated. “The morning after they tried to shoot you Oliver went to Isabel and told her that he was out and that he should have quit a long time ago already.”

Felicity opened her mouth a few times, still trying to figure out what to say. Her brain seemed to have problems processing this piece of information. Oliver had quit. He had given up his job, a job he hadn’t liked much admittedly, but it had also been the one job that had allowed him to pay Thea’s fees for college.

“Are you sure he wasn’t fired?” Felicity asked with a frown. “Oliver left a date with a client early to come to the hospital and-“

“Isabel was pissed,” Tommy interrupted her. “She had been pissed at him before, so the early end of that date had only made it worse. She knows about Oliver’s recommendation in Central City, though, and I think she had hoped that maybe she would be able to get him back on track. She would have given him a… I don’t know… tenth chance if he hadn’t quit.”

Oliver had quit. He had quit his job. Felicity felt the need to ask why he had decided to quit his job, but she didn’t dare to. There was that little bit of hope that maybe he had quit because of her and because he wanted more with her the same way she wanted more with him. She was too afraid of the disappointment if that thought turned out to be wrong to really let it in her heart. This long time of not hearing of him had unsettled her. She had been worried and unsure of Oliver’s feelings or rather the feelings she had thought he had for her until he hadn’t taken her calls.

Felicity frowned, shaking her head, when she realized that this was one of these moments where she couldn’t completely follow her own thoughts because they were too weird. It was always very confusing when that happened.

Anyway, she realized that she wasn’t ready to have the hope that maybe Oliver had feelings for her after all destroyed yet, so instead of asking for his reasons to quit she asked, “What does he do now?”

“He is still trying to find a job,” Tommy replied. “It’s not easy because people like us don’t have really much experience that is asked in any other branch, so…”

He shrugged his shoulders and took a sip from his coffee. Felicity nodded. She vaguely remembered that Oliver had said something like that the night he had taken care of her when she had been sick. Being an escort had been the only job he had had so far and it wasn’t one that opened a lot of doors to other carriers.

“What jobs does he consider?” Felicity asked. “I mean if you can or even want to tell me because of course that is Oliver’s privacy and you are doing a lot by telling me this in the first place and-“

“I don’t know,” Tommy replied honestly. “I think he tries to keep his mind open and consider a lot of different possibilities, but it just really isn’t easy.”

Felicity nodded slowly. “What about Thea and her college fees?”

“I pay for it.”

“You do?”

Tommy chuckled. “Ollie reacted with just as much surprise. I am his friend. He is family. Thea is family. If he can’t pay for her college education any longer, I will step up. I have the money and I don’t mind. The last I want is for Thea to end up in a job like ours.”

Felicity nodded. She had only met Thea shortly, but she had seemed like a nice, young woman. It wasn’t fair that she had lost her parents and her guardian had robbed her of the money. She was lucky to have a brother like Oliver and a friend like Tommy, who had taken responsibility and were taking care of her and her education.

The fact that Oliver had quit the job that had helped him to support his little sister meant a lot, especially when he hadn’t had any other job offer at hand already. It made the question for the reason even more important. Felicity knew that the hope that grew in her could be destroyed by the answer, but she also knew that it was better destroyed now than later when it had grown even more.

“I think I need to know,” Felicity stated with whispered voice, playing with her empty coffee mug. “All of this is… kind of confusing. On the one hand Oliver quit his job the night after he came to the hospital to check on me. On the other hand he doesn’t seem to be willing to talk to me because he didn’t take my calls and he doesn’t call back either. Then again you show up here to tell me that he quit his job, so you feel like I should know and... I don’t know. It’s really confusing because I have no idea what all of this is supposed to mean and-”

“Oliver likes you,” Tommy interrupted her. “He likes you  _ a lot _ , maybe even more than he knows he does.”

Felicity sucked in a deep breath. She knew she should know about that by now, but the whole situation was just so messy that she caught herself doubting the feelings she believed he had for him. The way he had looked at her with the intense gaze of his deep blue eyes and the soft smile that she had always felt was reserved for only her should have told her already. Sometimes she thought she understood what his eyes and his smile tried to tell her. Other times she doubted it.

“If he likes me as much as you say,” Felicity said slowly, “then why doesn’t he call back?”

Tommy sighed. “I think Oliver tries to get his life back under control. After he had to drop out of college, he… it just felt like he lost control over his life. Now he quit the job he felt he was forced to take and tries to find something else he feels he could make money with. I think he just wants to have a plan what he is about to do with his life before he talks to you. He doesn’t want to stumble from one thing into another.”

Felicity nodded slowly. That seemed to make a lot of sense. Oliver hadn’t exactly chosen to become an escort. He had stumbled into it. Maybe it was a good thing he was taking his time to find out what to do now. If he stumbled into something new only to have the chance to be with her or whatever it probably wasn’t going to make him happy, at least not for a long time.

“Why didn’t he tell me?” Felicity asked. “I understand all of that, but it would have been nice if there had been… I don’t know… a short text message, telling me to hold on a little longer and wait until he contacted me?”

Tommy chuckled. “I think he wouldn’t have been able to ask you to wait. He hopes to find something new soon, so he can talk you and ask you to meet him. He doesn’t admit it, but I think he is worried that it will take too long and you will have moved on. He was so excited when you called him and so torn between what to do when he realized that maybe it was a good sign. I told him to talk to you and tell you that he just needs more time to know how to go on with his life, but he is stubborn.”

Felicity chuckled. “Something told me he was.”

Tommy smiled at her. “I know he should be the one to tell you this, and I hope he will, but… I don’t want him to lose the chance of happiness just because he is too stubborn to ask you to wait. I understand if you don’t want to wait, but-“

“I’ll try to be patient,” Felicity interrupted him. “I am glad that I know that I won’t be waiting for nothing now, but maybe you could tell Oliver to at least call me to say something like that? It’s kind of weird that I had this conversation with you instead of him.”

“I will try to talk to him once more,” Tommy assured her, nodding his head, “but I can’t promise anything.”

“I know,” Felicity replied.

“As far as I know he had a promising job interview today. He was optimistic and slightly nervous about it when I called him earlier this morning.”

Again Felicity nodded.

She felt the hope that had built earlier finally spreading through her body. Oliver wasn’t ignoring her calls. He hadn’t given up. All the doubts that had formed in her these last days that she hadn’t heard anything of Oliver almost disappeared all of a sudden. Oliver was working on finding a way to make it work by finding a new job just like she had taken time to find a way to make it work by giving him another chance after his lie.

This was good. They would still have to put a lot of time and work and effort into it, but they were taking a step into the right direction. At least that was what she hoped was happening here right now.

When Tommy glanced at his watch, Felicity cocked her head and smiled. “You have to go?”

He nodded. “Yes, I just wanted to come here and tell you this.”

“I am glad that you did,” Felicity replied.

“It was nothing.”

“No, really,” Felicity said. “Thank you, Tommy.”

Tommy nodded slowly. “I hope the next time we see each other it’s a little less… complicated.”

“So do I,” Felicity replied. When Tommy grabbed his wallet, Felicity quickly shook her head. “The least I can do is pay for your coffee.”

“Okay,” Tommy responded. He got up from his chair and buttoned his coat. “Bye, Felicity.”

“Bye, Tommy.”

Felicity took in a deep breath and leaned back in her chair. She still had a little trouble processing all of this. After the long days without any word from Oliver Tommy’s news had been a lot, a lot of good actually. A smile spread on her lips at that thought. Finally she knew that there was still a chance. Now she just needed to wait.

With a look at her watch Felicity put some money on the tabletop, got up and put on her coat. Luckily, she had so much work to look forward to that she was sure she had enough distraction to get through that time. She was sure that she could easily distract herself for the next two weeks. Maybe after these fourteen days she was going to call Oliver once more if he hadn’t talked to her until then. For now she would accept his need for time and space, though. If they really wanted to give it a chance now, they should do it the right way and not repeat the mistakes of their past.

Taking in a deep breath, Felicity knotted the belt of her coat. With her hands in her pockets and hopeful smile on her lips she headed towards the exit. Only when she stepped through the doors and onto the busy sidewalk, the smile slowly faded and the feeling of hope and happiness ceased a little.

This was the first time that she was without a bodyguard since the night John had gotten shot. Despite his injured arm and the fact that he had been forced to stay in the hospital for a few days John had taken care of her security. He had called his little brother who had been working in the security industry until a few months ago too. John had asked him to become her bodyguard. Andy hadn’t been too fond of that idea at the start, mainly because he had promised his wife not to go back to a dangerous job like that. He had almost been stabbed a few months ago when his client’s stalker had made a move against him, and with John’s latest injury the job was even less attractive. John had persuaded his brother into taking the job, though, which Felicity had to admit she wasn’t feeling comfortable with herself.

John had gotten hurt. She didn’t want his brother to get hurt too. She had brought enough disaster over the Diggle Family it seemed though she knew that John and Lyla would both disagree with that. They were too good for this world.

Walking under the cover of the high buildings next to her, Felicity hurried towards Smoak Technologies, trying to push away the slight feeling of fear. She had promised herself that she wasn’t going to live in panic the next weeks or months or however long it took to find out who was behind the attack on her, so she wasn’t going to let the fear of another attack guide her life.

That decision didn’t keep her from feeling slightly frightened by what had happened, though. She probably needed time to process what had happened. Someone had actually tried to kill her and almost killed a friend of hers after all.

The worst was that she had to find a new bodyguard now too or, well, John had to find one for her. After what had happened, he had finally decided that maybe it was better to take Felicity’s offer and become head of her security staff instead of being her bodyguard. It was a job that paid good money and that needed someone with his experience in security, while it was much safer than being around her all the time. Felicity understood that he didn’t want to take the risk anymore. She had been trying to convince him to take that job for months. It still left an aching feeling in her chest that he did so now because John was her friend and that had been part of why she had always felt so safe with him.

She would get used to a new bodyguard, though. If a new bodyguard meant that Baby Diggle was going to get to know her father, Felicity wasn’t going to complain about John’s choice. No, instead she was going to support him and make sure that his change into the new professional position was going to go as smoothly as possible.

When Felicity stepped into foyer of the Smoak Technologies Tower, Gerry approached her immediately. “Ms. Smoak, I know you have a meeting in fifteen minutes, but Mr. Diggle called. He had a promising applicant for the position as your bodyguard and would like to introduce him to you as soon as possible. He emphasized the importance of this because the younger Mr. Diggle is supposed to start a new job by the start of the next month and-“

“Gerry,” Felicity interrupted him when they had reached the elevators and turned around to her EA with a sigh. “If Mr. Diggle says it’s important, I will always take the time.”

“Alright, I will text him to come upstairs into your office then,” Gerry replied and stepped into the elevator with Felicity, immediately pulling his phone from the pocket of his jacket.

Felicity leaned against the cold wall of the elevator cab and closed her eyes for a moment. With the news she had gotten about Oliver there were only three issues left that made her life more difficult: the bump the company had taken from the attack on her, the hiring of a new bodyguard and the hired killer and his contracting authorities that hadn’t been found yet. Hm, her life kind of sucked at this point, didn’t it?

Sighing, Felicity opened her eyes and shook her head, effectively getting rid of the thoughts. She needed to focus on the positive things in her life and that was that she was usually able to fix most things. At least the problems in her company could be fixed, so that was what she would concentrate on for the next couple of days or weeks Felicity decided just in time for the elevator to stop on the topmost floor of the building. As soon as the doors opened, Felicity stepped outside and headed to her office.

“Gerry, can you get me a mug of coffee please?” Felicity asked.

“Of course, Ms. Smoak.”

“Thanks,” Felicity replied absentmindedly.

She took off her coat and put it over the back of the chair before she sat down. She quickly checked her mails on her phone, reading through some reports of the different departments. Felicity was halfway through the one from the Department of Applied Science when she heard John’s voice outside.

“Is she in her office?”

“Yes, she is. I was just about to bring her the-“

“Oh, I will bring her the coffee. I guess you have enough to do with the preparations for the board meeting.”

“Thank you, Mr. Diggle.”

“You know that you can just call me Dig, right?”

“Give up on it, John,” Felicity told her friend when he stepped into her office. “I tried to get him to call me by my first name since the day he started working here, and he still doesn’t do it.”

John chuckled. “Maybe one day.”

Felicity smiled at him. His arm was still in a sling and it would have to stay there for probably some more weeks. John should have actually stayed in the hospital some time longer, but he had been unable to lie in bed and had released himself. Instead of catching some rest at home, he had wanted to start setting up the nursery. It had taken two days until Lyla, who had been advised to relax a little too, hadn’t been able to take it anymore. She had called Felicity and asked her to give John something to do, so he wouldn’t drive her insane.

Luckily, leaving the choice of a new bodyguard for her up to John was killing two birds with one stone. She didn’t have to search for a new bodyguard herself, and John couldn’t annoy Lyla anymore. Besides, it was nice to have him here even if he wasn’t constantly at her side anymore. It would probably help her to get used to the new situation when John was working in an office downstairs in the Security Department.

When John put the mug of coffee in front of her on the desk, Felicity looked past him with a frown. She perked up an eyebrow and looked at her friend.

“Where’s the promising applicant for the job as my bodyguard?” she asked, repeating Gerry’s words from before.

“He should be here in a minute,” John replied. “He needed to head to the bathroom.”

“Washing away the sweat talking with you left?”

John chuckled. “Maybe.”

Felicity knew that John demanded high standards from everyone that worked in the Security Department. He had been in charge of some job interviews before, and Felicity knew that he wasn’t someone to be impressed easily. She had seen several optimistic faces stepping into the office he had gotten for the job interviews and almost just as many disappointed faces leaving.

“Sit down and tell me about him,” Felicity asked, gesturing at the seat next to John.

He only shook his head. “No, thanks. I just wanted to see you for a second before I leave.”

“You are not staying when I talk to him?”

“No, I think maybe it’s better if you two get to know each other without a third pair of eyes watching you,” John told her. “If you ask me, he is the right one for the job.”

“If you are so sure, you could have just hired him without my allowance, you know?” Felicity asked back. “I trust your judgment. If you say he is the right guy for the job, then he is the right guy for the job. I am surprised you found someone so quickly, though. Yesterday you were going on and on about the lack of an eligible candidate, and today you can already present the perfect one?”

John shrugged the shoulder of his unharmed arm and smiled. “Since I didn’t meet any applicants that seemed to suit my demands, I took the evening yesterday and found one that did.”

Felicity perked up her eyebrow and grinned. “Is there a hidden village of bodyguards where you went looking for him?”

“No,” John answered with a chuckle. “I just knew that I wanted someone at your side that I can trust to take good care of you and who could be a good replacement for me. He doesn’t have experience in the security branch, but I think he learns quickly. I already called a few friends that will help with his training, so he should be able to take over when Andy has to leave. That is if you agree to him.”

“If you are so convinced of him, I am sure I will agree. I hope you know that nobody could ever replace you, though” Felicity told him. She leaned forward and reached out her hands on the desk. Smiling, John put his unharmed hand between her fingers. Felicity stroked his knuckles gently, smiling at him. “You are my best friend and you will always be my best friend. Nothing and nobody will ever change that.”

“I know,” John replied, squeezing her fingers. “I just meant that maybe the bodyguard I have in mind for you could become someone important for you too.”

Felicity snorted and leaned back in her chair. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and explained with a short look at the sling around his shoulder, “I don’t think I should get too attached to my bodyguard, don’t you think?”

“We are going to find out who did this to you, Felicity,” John said firmly. “It might take some time, but you are not going to live with these threats for the rest of your life.”

“I hope so,” Felicity replied with a sigh.

“You hope and I know,” John assured her once more. “Anyway, as long as the threats are still existent, it’s probably better to have someone by your side who can keep an eye on your safety and like I said I think I found the perfect person for that.”

Felicity glanced at her watch. “I have five more minutes before I need to go into my meeting, so your perfect person should get here soon or otherwise-“

A slight coughing interrupted Felicity and she lifted her gaze to the person at the door. She felt her heart stop beating for a moment before it started racing in her chest. It pounded against her ribs firmly, almost jumping up into her throat. Slowly she got up from her chair, standing behind her desk and just staring.

“Oliver,” she whispered, her voice not missing to sound surprised.

Oliver pushed his hands into the pockets of his pants, hunching his shoulders and ducking his head slightly. He lowered his gaze to the floor for a moment, shuffling his feet. When he looked back up a moment later, he smiled almost shyly. She had never seen him like that before, but Felicity couldn’t help but realize that he was looking unbelievably sweet.

“Hi,” he said with whispered voice.

“What are you…?” Felicity started, but stopped and looked at John instead. Her friend just smiled at her softly which was all the answer she needed. Slowly she looked back at Oliver. “You are the promising applicant for the job as my bodyguard?”

Oliver shot a quick look at John before he replied, “I… uhm… I told him… I know it’s not a… The idea really isn’t good, but… I told John that…he said we should… maybe I should-“

“Hey, if you are going to work for me, I think you should know that the only person that is allowed to speak in sentence fragments here is me.”

At her words Oliver blushed slightly and lowered his gaze for another short moment before he looked back at Felicity, not saying a word, though. Felicity looked back at him with equal silence.

“I will leave the two of you alone now,” John suggested and looked Felicity. “You text me your decision.”

“Of course,” she assured him.

When John turned around, he looked at Oliver. Walking past him, he slapped his shoulder and whispered into his ear just loud enough for Felicity to hear, “You know what will happen if you hurt her again.”

Oliver just nodded in response, and John slapped his shoulder once more before he left the office. The glass door fell shut behind him and Oliver and Felicity were alone. They stood opposite of each other, a lot of distance between them. Not saying a word, they just looked at each other. It was Oliver who eventually broke the silence.

“How are you?” he asked in a whisper.

“I’m-“

“Don’t say fine,” Oliver interrupted her in a pleading whisper before she could say it.

Felicity sucked in a deep breath and bit down on her bottom lip. The way Oliver looked at her was enough for her to know that he knew that she wasn’t fine. Of course he knew. He had been in the hospital with her. He had held her and comforted her while she had been waiting for good news about John.

“I am trying not to think about it too much.”

Oliver nodded slightly, and Felicity could see the struggle in his eyes. He certainly wanted to tell her that maybe that wasn’t the best way to deal with it, but he didn’t seem to be exactly sure about whether they had that kind of relationship that would allow him to say something like that. If the short nod he gave her was any indication, he decided that maybe he should keep that to himself for now.

Felicity cleared her throat. “So you want to work as my bodyguard?”

“I don’t really have-“ Oliver started, but he stopped to press his lips together and pull them between his teeth for a moment. He took in a deep breath and took a few steps into her direction before he explained, “I quit my job at the agency after what happened to you and John. I had considered this for a while already, but now I felt it was about time. What happened to you was probably a wake-up call that made me realize that it was time and…”

Felicity nodded slightly, swallowing down the lump in her throat. “Tommy told me you were looking for a new job and that was why you didn’t call me back.”

“You talked to Tommy?”

“He came to my coffee shop during my lunch break today,” Felicity told him. “He felt like maybe it was a good idea to tell me that you aren’t ignoring my calls because you changed your mind about… things.”

Oliver sucked in a breath. “I wanted to have some kind of plan before I came to you.”

“I know,” Felicity whispered. “So this is your plan? Working as my bodyguard?”

“I think it’s much more John’s plan,” Oliver replied, making Felicity release a breathy laugh. He shook his head and massed the back of his neck with his hand when he added with a sigh, “Like I said I would have never considered this job given what happened between us. I wanted to find some other job, just so that I have a plan, before I come to talk to you and ask you for a second chance. I guess this looks like I am trying to force myself back into your life and use the thin line between job and private life to do so again and that is not-“

“I don’t think that way,” Felicity interrupted him, shaking her head. “I know that you need a job, and I know that it’s not easy to find something given your previous job. I admit that maybe it’s not ideal if you work for me after what happened-“

“-which is exactly what I told John, so I really should go and-“

“-but maybe we can make it work somehow,” Felicity continued. Taking in a deep breath, she stepped away from her desk and slowly approached Oliver until there were until a few feet of distance between them. “I still have my problems with how you have chosen to deal with whatever developed between us these last months, but-“

“When you walked away from me in the hospital,” Oliver interrupted her so quietly that Felicity had to hold her breath to understand him, “I realized why I was doing it. That moment I felt like I was losing you all over again, and… After I quit the special services, I thought about the best way to tell you that I couldn’t offer them anymore because the only person I wanted to have sex with was you. Then I figured that the reason you kept hiring me after that first time was to relax you and… I don’t know… I just… I know I always said we were friends, but I think I might have not trusted that enough. I thought if I told you, you might end whatever we had and that… I just didn’t want to lose you.”

“You got scared,” Felicity stated and Oliver nodded, hunching his shoulders once more. “I understand that because… I got scared too.”

“You did?” Oliver looked at her with urgent eyes, making Felicity smile slightly.

She bit down on her bottom lip and stepped a little closer to him before she replied, “Yes. When I realized that you meant more to me than you were supposed to, that scared me already. Then I realized that maybe I was more than a client to you too given the night that we spent together and given that you quit the special services but continued spending the nights with me. I felt like I was losing control over what was happening and, yes, that scared me.”

Felicity felt the weight that had pressed down on her chest for the last couple of days falling away from her. She understood what had driven Oliver to not tell her that he had quit special services and she had been able to tell him why she hadn’t been able to take it. They couldn’t undo the past. No matter how hard they would try, that would never work.

They hadn’t had easy lives and then they hadn’t met under the easiest circumstances. Nothing would ever change that. It didn’t mean that they couldn’t find some common ground to continue on. They had had fun and amazing chemistry, so…

“Maybe we should-“

A knock at the door interrupted Felicity, and she looked past Oliver to Gerry, who opened the door and stuck his head into her office. “Ms. Smoak, the first board members are already here. I think you should come.”

“Damn it,” Felicity growled, closing her eyes for a moment. “I’ll be there in a minute.” Gerry nodded and left, so Felicity quickly looked back at Oliver with an apologetic smile. “I am sorry. The meeting is important and-“

“No, of course,” Oliver replied quickly, taking a step aside and gesturing to the door. “You should go and… take your time to consider… things. John can call me when you made your decision about my application. I fully understand if you don’t want me to do the job.”

Felicity nodded. “Yes, that sounds like a good idea.”

Taking in a breath, she glanced at the door. She knew she had to go. Like she had said the board meeting was important. She couldn’t just skip it or even delay it to keep talking to Oliver though she really wanted to continue talking to him. There was still so much they needed to discuss. They had talked about their past now, but what about their future?

Felicity took another little step towards him. There was only little room between them now. Their chests almost rubbed against each other with every intake of breath. Oliver’s eyes were focused on her face intensely almost like they were trying to urge deeper inside and get a look into her soul. It made a warm shiver run down the length of her spine and left goosebumps on her skin.

Slowly the atmosphere around them seemed to tense. It was like the few times before they had kissed for the first time. Felicity felt drawn to his lips, her own prickling with the need to feel his against them. It had been so long since she had last kissed him. Seeing Oliver and talking to him today had reminded her of how much she had really missed him.

She knew now wasn’t the time to kiss him. No matter how much she wanted to feel his lips against hers and slide her tongue against his, she knew that now was not the right time. They still had too much to discuss before anything else should happen. Lack of communication had drove them apart, so there shouldn’t be a lack of communication when they got back together… if they got back together!

Felicity took in a deep breath and tried to say something, but she didn’t know how to start. She couldn’t just ask him if they could move on. How would moving on even look for them? It was something she realized she had never really thought about. Would they get to know each other from the start again? Would they be friends? Would they date? Would they be together? Where was the point from where they could start over again?

“Ms. Smoak?” Gerry pulled her from her thoughts when she showed no sign to follow him into the conference room.

Felicity bit down on her bottom lip and glanced at Oliver. He stood close to her with held breath, just watching her patiently. Quickly Felicity thought her options through. She could ask Oliver for more time, so she could think carefully about hiring him. John had already told her that he thought he was the right guy for the job, though, and with this new job the line between job and privacy was certainly not as thin as it had been with his previous job.

Felicity wanted to give Oliver another chance. So far she had considered this to be a chance that belonged fully into the private area of their relationship, but maybe she had been wrong about that. Maybe this was their chance of starting all over.

“Do you have any plans for the rest of the day?” Felicity asked Oliver. When he perked up his eyebrows in surprised, she quickly added, “I am willing to give you a chance here, so maybe John could fill you in on your tasks and… I don’t know.... I have to go to this meeting, but we can discuss the details of your contract, the duration of the probation period and such things later.”

Oliver smiled. “That sounds great.”

Felicity nodded and was about to say something more, but Gerry shot her an urgent gaze. “Okay, we see each other later then.”

“Yes,” Oliver replied.

Felicity walked past him and out of her office. Oliver followed her, closing the door behind them. While she headed right towards the conference room, Oliver stopped.

“Felicity?” She turned around to him, feeling her heart jumping into her throat at the way he looked at her. His deep blue eyes were focused on her face, a soft smile playing on his lips. He took in a deep breath before he said, “Thank you.”

Smiling, Felicity just nodded shortly. Oliver’s smile widened before he turned around and headed to the elevators. Felicity looked after him for a moment before she released a low sigh, turned around and stepped into the conference room.

If her day continued like this, she would have solved all her problems by the end of the day. She knew it was utopian, but the day had already surprised her so much in regards to Oliver that maybe it managed to do it again. Like this morning she hadn’t heard of Oliver in more than two weeks and by the end of the night they would hopefully know where their future would go, whether it was their professional or private future or as Felicity hoped maybe both.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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> **In case you missed it, here’s my latest[Fanfic Announcement](http://smkkbert.tumblr.com/post/155899273770/fanfic-announcement).**
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	12. Chapter 12

“Just mail me the debug log and I will take a look at it as soon as I can,” Felicity told her Head of Applied Science. “It won’t be before tomorrow, though. I really just need the night to catch up on some sleep. You better head home and take a break from work too. I will call you as soon as I know more. Night, Curtis.”

“Night, Felicity.”

With a sigh Felicity ended the call and leaned back in the cold leather seats, closing her eyes. She lifted her hand to the back of her neck and massaged the tensed muscles there with gentle pressure of her fingers. The pleasant feeling made her release another, deeper sigh.

“I never thought being your own boss would be this exhausting.”

A tired smile spread on Felicity’s face. She opened her eyes and turned her head to look at Oliver, who was sitting on the rear bench seat next to her, several inches of distance separating them from each other. He looked at her compassionately.

“Being the boss is cool,” Felicity replied, “but it is terribly exhausting.”

Oliver smiled, watching her face intensely. A comfortable silence settled between them. If it wasn’t for the subtly sizzling tension between them, Felicity was almost sure that the silence would lull her into sleep. She fought the urge to close her eyes and looked at Oliver instead, enjoying the feeling of intimacy that it elicited despite the lack of conversation or touch.

When the limousine stopped, Felicity glanced past Oliver out of the window at his side and frowned when her gaze fell on the front of her little townhouse. She straightened up quickly, taking a closer to look to make sure she wasn’t mistaken.

“Wait, are we already home?”

“Yes,” Oliver replied with a nod and chuckled slightly.

“We didn’t have time to discuss your contract or anything else for that matter,” Felicity said, not missing that her voice sounded just as disappointed as she felt.

During the terribly long and crazily exhausting board meeting talking to Oliver had been her silver lining. She had thought that they could use the ride in the limousine to talk about how to continue professionally and maybe even not-so-professionally. Then Curtis had called and told her about a problem with the program they were developing right now, and she had tried to find a solution over the phone until she had realized that she had to take a look at the thing herself. Unfortunately, this insight seemed to have taken all the way home.

Oliver’s soft smile widened. “We can still talk tomorrow or whenever your work day isn’t as crazy as this one probably was. John gave me a tight schedule for my training - shooting, boxing, hand-to-hand-combat and such things - but I am sure that we will find some time soon. We will see each other regularly from now on anyway.”

Felicity nodded slightly, not really convinced though. She had hoped they could talk about it today. The sooner, the better! Obviously that wasn’t going to happen, though, at least not today.

“Come on,” Oliver prompted, nodding towards her house, “I’ll accompany you to the door.”

He opened the door and got out of the car. Standing next to the door, he hesitantly held out a hand for her. Felicity bit down on her bottom lip and hesitated shortly too. Despite knowing that she could very well get out of the car without any help, she put her hand into Oliver’s and held onto him while she was getting up. The contact didn’t last long because soon he let go of her hand again to stick his head back into the car.

“Thanks, Charles. You can head home. I will walk home from here.”

“Alright. Night, Oliver.”

“Night,” Oliver replied and closed the door before turning to Felicity and gestured towards the door. “Should we?”

Felicity nodded, hope rising inside of her. Maybe the reason Oliver had told Charles to drive home already was because he wanted to take time and talk to her nonetheless. She didn’t know where he lived, but she couldn’t exactly picture him in one of these small townhomes, so it was probably a long way home for him. There were barely any apartment buildings in the neighborhood.

“You know, for someone who has no experience in working as a bodyguard you are doing this quite well,” Felicity said when Oliver didn’t say anything. She pulled her keys out of her purse and added, “I should maybe tell you that not even John accompanied me to the door every day.”

Oliver chuckled. “He told me to keep my eyes glued to you, and I am just making sure that I make a good first impression in my new job.”

“Oh, you certainly make a good impression,” Felicity replied lightly, her eyes drifting down Oliver’s body.

Only now she fully realized how good he looked in the dark suit he was wearing. It seemed like as a bodyguard he was looking just as handsome as he had been as an escort. Well, the suspenders were missing, but they were just the icing of the cake anyway. Felicity licked her lips, her eyes finding Oliver’s. She blushed slightly when she realized that he was watching her carefully, his eyebrows perked up.

“You should go in,” Oliver told her, nodding to the door.

Felicity nodded shortly, unlocking the door and stepping into her house. Leaning her head against the door, she looked back at him and asked, “Do you want to come in? We don’t know how crazy the next days will be, so maybe we should use the evening and talk now?”

She didn’t know if she had expected Oliver to nod his head with a smile and tell her that it was a great idea. What Felicity did know, though, was that she hadn’t expected the way he did react to her question. Instead of smiling he pressed his lips together and pulled them into his mouth. He pushed his hands into the pockets of his pants and ducked his head slightly.

“Felicity,” he said, the unease audible in his voice.

No way! This couldn’t be! She couldn’t have misread all the signs. Oliver did have feelings for her. She was almost sure of it by now. There might still be that little doubt that would only go away if he told her that she was right and he did have feelings for her, but she honestly believed that he did have feelings for her, whether he said it or not. But why would he look at her like he was going to dump her if that was the case?

God, Oliver Queen seemed to be a mystery! Felicity hated mysteries. She always felt like she needed to solve them, but it was quite difficult with Oliver. Whenever she felt she was close to discovering a new part of him that could help her to solve the mystery that was this man, ten new walls or locks closed it for her again.

“I think it’s better to separate private life and working life,” he told her. “We mingled the two parts of our lives and it got us into trouble, so…”

So what? He wanted to keep his distance until he had found a job outside of Smoak Technologies? Was he serious? Okay, that couldn’t be it. She was certainly missing an important point here because she was tired and exhausted. There was no way that after all the back and forth Oliver was backing out again now.

Putting on a forced smile, she said, “Okay, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then?”

Oliver smiled with no sign of any force visible on his face. “Yes, I will see you tomorrow. Charles will pick me up before we come here. We can talk about your work schedule and when exactly you will need me on the ride to work.”

Felicity nodded, her mind still trying to figure out what was going on here. She stared at Oliver, almost waiting for him to just laugh and tell her that it was just a joke and he wanted to come in after all. When he didn’t, she released a sound that was kind of a mixture of a snort and a grunt.

“Good night, Oliver.”

“Good night, Felicity.”

She waited three second longer. Oliver just continued to smile at her, so Felicity closed the door between them.

“What?!” she mouthed in a whisper to herself, frowning at the closed door.

That was it? Really?

Turning into her home, she kicked off her shoes carelessly and focused onto the fern that was still standing on the small table next to the door. She stroked the soft leaves softly, recalling everything that had happened today.

Tommy had told her that Oliver needed time to get his life back under control before talking to her. Oliver himself had told her that he had wanted to have a plan before he wanted to ask for another chance. He had wanted to ask for another chance, so why had he changed his mind all of a sudden? It seemed like she just couldn’t keep up with how that man was thinking. That man was less predictable than the best thriller it seemed.

Maybe now was the time for a glass of wine Felicity decided and already took the first step towards her kitchen when there was a quiet knock at the door. Releasing an annoyed sigh and rolling her eyes, Felicity turned back and opened the door.

“What?!” she asked, her voice sounding as annoyed as she felt, but she frowned when she realized who was standing in front of her door.

Oliver had taken off the jacket of his suit, holding it in his hand instead now. His blue ties was loosened and the two topmost buttons of his shirt undone. His hair looked slightly tousled. He smiled at her almost a little tiredly, a little bit of amusement showing in his eyes.

“Hey,” he said softly, his smile widening a little.

“Forgot something?” Felicity asked as her frown deepened when her confusion increased.

Oliver frowned back though his amused grin gave away that he wasn’t really confused by her question. Nonetheless he replied, “No. What should I have forgotten?”

Yeah… what should he have forgotten?

“No, I just have a new job and I made sure my boss came home safely and ended up in your neighborhood, so I thought I should try my luck and check if you have time to talk,” Oliver continued, his smile growing a little bit nervous before he added quietly, “about us.”

Felicity bit her tongue and puckered her lips, keeping herself from joining into his grin. Now she got what he was doing. Since the blurring line between private life and work life had been the reason why everything had become so complicated, he was making sure that the line between these two parts of their lives was very clear. He might have confused her here for a long moment, but the reasons for his behavior were kind of sweet.

“Can I come in?” Oliver asked.

Felicity puckered her lips. For a second she considered teasing him back because two could play this game and he deserved to be played back for his teasing, but she figured that they had wasted enough time as it was. She didn’t want to lose any more.

“Sure,” she replied and stepped aside, letting Oliver in.

She closed the door behind them and leaned back against it, her hands between her butt and the wood of the door. Cocking her head slightly, she looked at Oliver and waited for him to say something. He took in a deep breath and just watched her for a long moment before he took a small step closer to her. It still left several feet of distance between them, though.

“Felicity, I-“ he started but stopped and frowned at her. Felicity perked up her eyebrows in question, making him release a chuckle. He ran his fingers through his hair nervously and released a deep sigh before he looked right at her and asked, “Can I skip the part that I told you before already?”

“Before?” Felicity asked with a smile, unable to use the chance to tease him when he handed it on a silver platter like this. “Did we talk in the last days?”

Oliver looked at her for a long moment, obviously considering if she was serious and wanted to play this game to the end now. Only when her smile widened, he chuckled once more. Felicity smiled at him for a moment longer before she nodded her head, letting him know that he could just tell her what he wanted to tell her.

“I would like to have another chance,” he said quietly. His eyes were so intense on her that her skin almost felt like it was burning. “I… I like you… a lot… and… and I would just like to try figure out if maybe we have the chance to… I don’t know… maybe the chance to…”

“You’re cute when you babble,” Felicity said with a smile.

Oliver huffed out a breathy laugh, lowering his gaze to the floor for a long moment. When he looked back at her, Felicity could see the nervousness in his eyes. His voice was slightly husky when he asked, “Can you please give us another chance? I want to figure out if there is a chance for us to be something… something real and something more than we have been so far, but I guess we can only do that if you are willing to try to.”

“I have been ready to give us another chance for the last two weeks,” Felicity told him.

“I know,” Oliver replied with a low sigh. “I just needed to make sure that we didn’t stumble into it. I don’t want to make the same mistakes we did the first time. Luckily, with my new job there should be no mistaking what’s part of the job and what’s not because you are my boss and I guess the line between bodyguard and boyfriend is kind of clearer than the one between escort and boyfriend.”

Felicity puckered her lips and cocked his head. “Are you telling me that John didn’t add a passage in your job description that told you that occasionally relaxing your boss during her break is part of your job?”

Oliver didn’t reply. He just looked at her for almost half a minute, the smile on his lips widening. His thumb was rubbing against the tips of the other fingers nervously. When Oliver caught her eyes on the little movement though, he quickly clenched his hand to a fist. As soon as their eyes locked again, he lifted his hand, holding it out for her.

Felicity didn’t hesitate. She took a step forward and put her smaller hand in his. Oliver’s fingers tightened around hers immediately and he slowly pulled her against him. Felicity bit down on her bottom lip to keep herself from sighing at the feeling to be back in Oliver’s arms. She had missed the warmth of his body and the scent of his skin. Felicity melted against him a little, resting her head back, so she could look at him carefully. His eyes were focused on her face intensely and his breath ghosted over her lips and chin. It made a shiver run down the length of her spine.

“As your bodyguard I won’t sleep with you to relax you,” Oliver told her. He squeezed her fingers while he was putting his other hand to the side of her neck. His thumb stroked over the edge of her jaw gently. “As your boyfriend I happily relax you wherever, whenever and however you want me to.”

Felicity felt her heart jumping up into her throat while it was simultaneously pounding against her ribs. Her heart seemed to be going wild in her chest, jumping up and down and back and forth in a happy dance. Her fingers were shaking slightly when she lifted her free hand to Oliver’s hand at her neck. She grabbed his wrist, feeling his pulse against her fingertips. If that was any indication, her heart wasn’t the only one going wild.

“Boyfriend, hm?” Felicity asked, her voice hoarse from the emotions that she felt swelling in her chest.

Oliver’s smile widened. His thumb swiped over her bottom lip lightly. He licked his own lips before he ducked his head a little, bringing his lips closer to hers. Felicity angled her head back a little more, looking at Oliver. His lips hovered right over hers when he whispered, “If you want me to.”

Without any hesitation Felicity straightened up onto the tip of her toes and closed the little distance that was left between them. Their lips brushed against each other’s gently and that soft touch was enough to make her moan out quietly. Her lips opened, releasing the sound that revealed how much she he had missed Oliver and how relieved she was to have him back. Oliver meanwhile didn’t waste a second. He used the opportunity of her opened lips to stroke his tongue into her mouth. Felicity pressed herself closer to him, feeling the hard muscles of his chest against her. Oliver deepened the kiss for a moment before he parted their lips and rested his forehead against hers.

Butterflies were fluttering in her stomach and Felicity was slightly out of breath from that one kiss already. She smiled and opened her eyes, finding Oliver’s eyes already on her. He pulled back a little, just looking at her for a moment.

“Felicity?” he asked and Felicity perked up her eyebrows in response, not trusting her voice at the moment. “Would you like to go out to dinner with me? Like a real dinner date with just the two of us and some candlelight in a nice Italian restaurant? Enjoying some good lasagna and maybe going for a long work under the starry sky after that?”

“I would like that,” Felicity replied and smiled, tightening her fingers around his wrist before she added, “but not tonight. Tonight my bed is calling for us.”

Oliver released a chuckle, perking up his eyebrows. “It’s calling for us?”

“Don’t you hear it?” Felicity asked in a whisper.

“Oh, now that you’ve said it…”

They both chuckled at their playfulness before their lips met in another kiss. It started slow and teasing, their lips just brushing slightly against each other’s while they were both smiling. They were breathing the same air, enjoying the lightness of the moment. When Felicity couldn’t take it anymore, she let go of Oliver’s hand and wrist. She circled his neck with her arms and straightened up onto her tiptoes. Pressing herself against Oliver’s tall body and almost melting against his strong form, Felicity kissed him. Immediately Oliver’s arms snuck around her waist. He held her against him tightly.

Their kiss had started out slow and gentle, but it soon grew heated. Oliver’s arms tightened around her waist, pulling her even closer against him. Felicity moved her fingers into the short hair at the back of Oliver’s neck and pulled herself against him. She used the closeness to him to deepen the kiss, moving the tip of her tongue over the roof of his mouth. When Oliver started to walk her backwards towards her bedroom, Felicity chuckled.

“I swear to God,” she told him, her lips so close that they brushed against his while she was speaking, “if you had made me wait much longer without any sign that you are still interested in us, I would have willingly sat through another date with Ray and hired a dozen paparazzi to take photos and make up story, so I could be sure you would have known about it. Maybe that would have helped you to get your head out of your ass and talk to me.”

“I would have stood on your doorstep as soon as the first photos were released,” Oliver replied with a low growl. “Palmer is the last guy I would want to see at your side.”

“Luckily, there is only one man I really want at my side now,” Felicity replied.

She was about to kiss him, but Oliver pulled back slightly and stopped walking to just look at her. He looked at her with so much gentleness that it made goosebumps spread all over Felicity’s skin. She locked her eyes with him and smiled. He brushed his lips against hers gently for only a split second before he loosened one arm from around her and moved his hand up her back. His eyes locked with hers when he started to slowly lower the zipper at the back of her dress. His fingertips brushed against the soft skin along her spine. His eyes darkened the more he lowered the zipper.

He moved his fingertips over her skin back up to the straps of the dress and slowly pushed them off her shoulders, so the fabric of her dress ended up at the floor, pooling around her feet. Oliver’s eyes stayed on hers for a moment before he slowly lowered his gaze down her body. With held breath Felicity watched Oliver’s eyes taking in her body. His eyes followed the curve of her neck and shoulder to her breasts, and his tongue darted out to wet his lips at the sight of the dark red lace covering them. Then his eyes slowly continued their path down over her slim waist and wide hips and finally her short legs. The slightest of a smirk formed on his lips before his eyes locked with hers again.

Felicity took a tiny step closer him. She took off his tie and started unbuttoning his shirt. Just like he had done before, she moved her fingertips over the exposed skin but kept her eyes strictly on his while she was doing so. When only the last button was undone and his white shirt pushed off his shoulders, joining her dress on the floor, she slowly started lowering her gaze. She took in the short stubble and the strong line of his jaw that she had already admired when she had first seen him. Her eyes continued their path down his body, taking in the broad shoulders and the defined muscles of his chest. Her fingers followed her eyes, brushing against the scarred skin and hard abs.

When she locked her eyes back on Oliver’s, she found them even darker than before. He licked his lips once more before he bent his knees a little and circled her waist with his strong arms. He lifted her against him, his lips brushing against hers, and Felicity wrapped her legs around his hips, sliding her fingers into his hair. Sighing into the kiss, she opened her lips to his and gently bit into his bottom lip to make him open up to her. Oliver did so with a low growl that sent a jolt of pleasure right through her core. Deepening the kiss, Felicity rubbed her hips against Oliver’s, the zipper of his pants pressing against her center to clit deliciously.

“God, I missed you,” Felicity whispered against his lips right before she pressed her lips back to his, sighing at the familiarity of his taste. “I missed you so much.”

Within seconds Oliver passed the rest of the distance to her bedroom and lay her down on her mattress carefully. He quickly took off his shoes and socks before he climbed onto the bed with her without any hesitation, so he was hovering right over her. His hands rested to both sides of her head, and he held his body propped up on his arms to keep his weight away from her. His chest was heaving from his quick breathing, his body pressing into hers a little more with each intake of breath. His left hand played with her hair while the fingertips of his right hand were slowly stroking her cheek. He looked at her intensely, just watching her without making a sound.

All the butterflies that had occupied her stomach at some point during this evening spread through her body and filled every cell of her with the tingling, fluttering feeling she had only felt in her stomach before. Her skin felt like it was burning while being tickled at the same time. Her lips itched with the need to feel Oliver’s against hers again. Her core was clamping down on emptiness, longing for him to be inside of her and stretch her.

“What?” Felicity asked with a smile, cocking her head, when Oliver kept watching her without saying anything.

“I missed you too,” he replied with a quiet sigh, “very much actually.”

Smiling, Felicity put her hands to his cheeks and framed his face. Her thumbs moved over his stubble gently when she pulled him down to her. She nuzzled his nose for a moment before she pecked his lips shortly. Then she said, “Well, we’re here and together now, so…”

Slowly Oliver lowered himself onto her completely and kissed her. His tongue traced her bottom lip and Felicity opened herself up to him, sighing into the kiss. Oliver pushed an arm around her waist and without breaking the kiss he rolled them around, so Felicity was straddling his lap. Oliver’s fingertips moved from the edge of her panties slowly up her body to her bra. His fingers traced the hem of it until they reached the clasp. With one quick moment he unclasped it and took her bra off, throwing it away carelessly.

Stroking his huge hands over the tender skin of her back, Oliver leaned forward, bending her upper body back. His hands supported her, kept her in the position he wanted her in by carrying her weight easily. His lips parted from hers and slowly moved down her neck. His teeth grazed her skin right before his tongue caressed it, soothing the slight pain his bite had left. When he reached her pulse point, his lips opened and sucked her skin into his mouth. Felicity moaned in response, mental images of the hickey he would hopefully leave there popping up in her mind and turning her on more.

She rocked her hips against his eagerly, enjoying the way his zipper continued to press where she wanted and needed it. Closing her eyes, Felicity enjoyed the sensations of his zipper between her legs and his lips against her neck. A moan escaped her when Oliver bit down on her collarbone, and she pressed her hips into his more firmly. Oliver growled lowly in response.

“Oh god!” Felicity moaned. When Oliver’s lips loosened from her skin, his stubble rubbing against it instead, Felicity looked at him with a frown. “Why are you stopping?”

“Oh, I thought you needed a break if you are already calling out for a god,” Oliver told her, a glint of amusement in his eyes. “If this is already helping you to reach your peak, maybe you need to take few deep breaths and some sleep before I…”

Instead of finishing his sentence Oliver rubbed his thumb against her nipple, letting her guess where his lips had wanted to go before her moan had interrupted them. Felicity licked her lips and put her hands to his shoulders before she sat back up, Oliver’s hands helping her into an upright position by pushing her back up a little. When she sat in his lap, she slid her arms around his neck and looked at him for a long moment.

Oliver stayed silent, patiently waiting for her to be ready to talk. She bit down on her bottom lip, wondering how she could say what she was thinking. Oliver swiped his thumb about her lip gently, freeing it from the maltreatment of her teeth.

“What’s going on?” he asked in a whisper. “What are you thinking about?”

“You… you released that little growl,” Felicity replied, her voice just as low as his.

Oliver frowned slightly, just a little wrinkle showing between his eyebrows. “What?”

“You are kind of quiet during sex,” she explained hesitantly. “I just wondered… is that you?”

Oliver’s frown deepened. “I don’t…”

“You had sex professionally,” Felicity hurried to explain, “and I know that you do what your clients want you to do. I was just wondering… when we were together, how much of that was you and how much was-”

When Oliver’s facial expression changed slightly, Felicity stopped immediately. A blush formed on her cheeks and she was sure that it spread down her neck and chest because she could feel her skin heating up there. She bit down on her tongue for a moment, cursing herself in her thoughts for even starting to talk about this.

“You know what? Just forget about it and-“

“Felicity, I’ve always been myself when I was with you,” Oliver explained to her. “I-“

Oliver sucked in a deep breath, his darkened eyes focused on her. His fingertips moved lazily up and down her spine, eliciting goosebumps that spread from her back all over her skin. She frowned slightly, watching Oliver struggling for words. She put a hand to his cheek, waiting patiently like he had waited patiently for her the last time.

After a long time that they had just sat like that in silence Oliver leaned his head forward and pressed a kiss to her chest right over her heart. His hands moved to her hips, holding her body to him, while the intense expression of emotions that Felicity couldn’t name were holding her heart and soul to him.

“I don’t have words to tell you what I feel for you. I am still searching for the right ones to make you know why I have always been me when I was around you, but…”

Once more Oliver struggled for words. Felicity smiled, put her hands to his cheeks and kissed him softly. When their lips parted and she pulled back enough to be able to look at him, she chuckled slightly.

“Take your time and think about the right words. Right now words aren’t needed,” Felicity told him, accentuating her words by pressing her hips against his.

“They aren’t?” Oliver asked with a smirk, perking up an eyebrow.

“No,” Felicity replied and pecked his lips, “because we will never get to the main event when we keep talking.”

Oliver chuckled, but it turned into the low growl she enjoyed so much when Felicity pressed her lips to his and slid her tongue into his mouth. She rocked against him with quick and firm movements, feeling him hardening in his pants. She dug the nails of her fingers into the skin of his back slightly and scratched down his back, eliciting another growl that made her thrust quicken once more.

Felicity wanted to take her time and explore Oliver’s body once more. She wanted to get to know him from the start one more time this night, but she knew that she wouldn’t be able to take this time if she didn’t get some first release now already. She needed to get some release now or she wouldn’t be able to take the time she wanted to take to really enjoy Oliver’s body again.

“Oliver,” she whispered, a breathless moan escaping her when his erection pressed against her core in a particularly perfect angle. “Please.”

Oliver didn’t need to ask what she was begging for. He knew it. Felicity knew that he knew because Oliver tightened his grip on her hips and pulled her down on him more firmly. He thrust up against her, increasing the delicious friction. His lips drifted down from her lips over her cheek and neck to the top of her breasts. Sliding his arms around her, he bent her back like he had before and closed his lips around her right nipple.

“Oh god, yes,” Felicity moaned, gripping Oliver’s hair and keeping him in place.

His tongue flicked over the hard nipple a few times before it pressed against the underside and pushed the nipple against the roof of his mouth. His teeth grazed the sensitive skin around the nipple in the meantime.

Felicity felt amazing. Oliver’s warm hands on her back felt like they were setting her skin on fire in the best way possible. His tongue and lips on her breasts made her stomach tighten, increasing her pleasure and quickening the movements of her hips. The hard outline of his erection pressed so perfectly against her core that it was almost like they were made for each other.

When Oliver sucked at her nipple hard, Felicity’s head fell back and she released a long moan as the pleasure was rushing through her veins and spreading in her body. She was shaking against him, holding onto him for dear life. The movements of her hips were erratic as she was lazily riding out her orgasm.

Definitely one of the advantages of dating a former escort – that man knew who to give orgasms without even being inside of you.

“You’re welcome.”

Her hips stilled and she straightened back up in his lap. Oliver looked up at her with amusement in his eyes. Felicity bit on her tongue, willing the blush she knew would spread on her face and chest to stay invisible. If the way Oliver followed the increasing warmth on her skin was any indication, that was not the case though.

“I said that out loud?”

“Maybe,” Oliver replied and pressed a kiss to the valley between her breasts. “This woke old memories.”

“Good memories,” Felicity added with a nod, thinking back to all the time he had made her come like this already.

“Some of the best,” Oliver responded with a wink.

Stroking her fingertips through his stubble and smiling at the way the short beard tickled her sensitive skin, Felicity just looked at Oliver. She slid a little closer to him, pressing her naked chest to his. She could feel his heartbeat against her breast, her own adapting to the rhythm of his easily.

Felicity lowered her lips to his and kissed him gently. She felt Oliver taking in a deep breath while his hands were stroking from her hips up her back, his fingertips brushing over her spine. When Oliver opened his lips to hers and their tongues met in a slow dance, Felicity stroked her hands from the back of his neck over her shoulders down his chest. She enjoyed the way the scarred tissue felt against her fingertips, and she sighed into the kiss at the feeling.

When her hands reached the waistband of his pants, she quickly unbuckled his belt, undid the button of the pants and lowered the zipper. As soon as her fingers stroked over the fabric of his boxer briefs, Oliver groaned. His hold on her tightened and he pulled her closer to him, rubbing his erection against her center once more. Encouraged by his reaction to this simple touch, Felicity snuck her fingers under the fabric of his underwear and pressed her flat hand against his erection.

“Felicity,” Oliver gasped, his hips thrusting up, pressing his hard cock more against her hand, while his fingers dug into her hips firmly.

Smirking, Felicity leaned back in his arms a little. She used her free hand to push Oliver down in a lying position. Oliver let it happen willingly, his dark eyes focused on her, watching her every move. Felicity moved a little to the side and took his left leg between both of hers, so she could continue to rub herself against him while she was lowering her body down to Oliver’s.

She pecked his lips shortly before she moved her lips over his stubbled cheek to his neck. Her tongue licked a long path down his shoulder, flicking over his pulse point a few times. Oliver growled lowly and when Felicity opened her eyes to look at him, she found his face screwed up in pleasure, his eyes almost black while he was still watching her.

While she was exploring the muscles and scars with her lips and tongue, her hand took hold of his erection. She closed her fingers around the hardness and moved her hand from the base of his cock to his tip. She flicked her thumb over the sensitive skin there before she lowered her fingers back down, giving him a squeeze. He thrust into her hand lazily, responding to the caress of her fingers and lips with low moans.

When Felicity bit down on one scar at the side of his chest, the already familiar growl escaped him. He gasped for breath, breathily whispering her name. “Felicity.”

Smirking, she put her chin to his abs and watched Oliver. His breathing was erratic, the movements of his hips almost uncontrolled by now. His eyes were screwed shut, his hands fisted in the sheets. When Felicity squeezed his length particularly firmly, though, his eyes snapped open. He quickly grabbed her wrist, pulling her hand away from his cock, and rolled them back around, so Felicity’s back was pressed into the mattress and Oliver’s broad body blanketed her smaller form. His lips were on hers immediately, his tongue exploring the inside of her mouth.

It wasn’t long until the passion and heat grew too much for her to take. She needed Oliver now. Her fingers hooked into the waistband of his boxer briefs, and she started pushing at the fabric impatiently. Oliver was pressed against her so tightly that it was almost impossible.

“Oliver,” she mumbled against his lips, her voice not lacking the desperation she was feeling deep in her core. “I need you.”

“That’s good,” Oliver replied between two kissed and nuzzled her nose before his fingers hooked into the waistband of her panties, “because I need you too.”

Sitting back on his heels so he was kneeling between her spread legs, Oliver pulled her panties down her legs and carelessly threw them over his shoulder. He climbed out of bed and took off his pants and boxer briefs. Propping herself up onto her elbows, Felicity eyed him up in all his naked glory. Her eyes traveled from his strong thighs to his hard, thick cock and further upwards over the muscular chest and broad shoulders to his face.

“Enjoying the view?” he asked with a wide smirk.

Felicity smiled, the slightest of a blush forming in her cheeks. “Kind of, yes.”

“Only kind of?” Oliver asked back. He flexed his abs, cocking his head. “And now?”

Felicity chuckled, enjoining the way they could tease each other and be playful in bed without any awkwardness. Everything just seemed to be so easy with Oliver she realized. Her smiled widened before she replied, “Well, I’d much more enjoy the view over your shoulder and down your back to your butt if you’d lie down on me.”

Oliver’s eyes glinted with lust and he licked his lips at the mental image her words painted for him. He took in a deep breath and already took the first step to the bed when he stopped. Felicity perked up her eyebrow and was just about to ask what was going on when Oliver walked around the bed and sat down on the edge of the mattress. His hand was already reaching out to the drawer when he looked back over his shoulder.

“We better take care of protection now because once I feel your naked body pressed to mine, I don’t think I will be able to hold back,” he explained and pointed at the drawer. “May I?”

Felicity nodded. “Sure.”

While Oliver was reaching into the drawer to grab a condom, Felicity sat up. She kneeled behind his back, put her arms around his shoulders from behind and gently kissed his neck. Oliver’s right hand moved up and down the outside of her thigh slowly.

“You okay?”

“More than okay,” Felicity replied and put her chin to his shoulder, looking at him.

Oliver held out the condom for her. “Do you want to do this?”

“Absolutely,” Felicity replied and took the foil package from him, quickly opening it with her teeth. She took out the latex and discarded the package on the floor. She quickly kissed his shoulder once more before she slid to his side and took hold of his cock.

As soon as her warm fingers made contact with the even warmer skin of his erection, Oliver growled deep in his chest. Instead of just rolling the condom down onto him, Felicity decided to tease him. She moved her fingertips from the head of his cock down his length to his balls, her touch light as a feather.

Oliver growled once more. “What are you doing?”

“Having fun,” Felicity answered while her fingers were taking the same path back to the head, her fingernails scratching the soft skin lightly.

“Well, if you can have fun, then so can I.”

Oliver slid his fingers from the outside of her thigh to the inside and between her wet folds to her core. His finger circled her entrance slowly, teasing but not entering her. Felicity took in a struggling breath, her hips moving against his finger immediately to try and increase the friction, but Oliver wouldn’t let his finger enter her.

“Okay, done having fun,” Felicity stated quickly.

She rolled the condom down his cock and before she knew it, Oliver already circled her waist with his strong arms and turned them. Felicity spread her legs, embracing his hips with her legs, so his cock rubbed against her folds perfectly. She moved a hand into his hair, while the other scratched down his back and with a low moan Oliver met her lips in a searing kiss. Their lips and hips moved erratically, revealing how much they wanted each other without any need for words.

Oliver’s body pressed against her firmly, his arms pulling her even closer against him, so there was no difference. Skin moved against skin while they kept kissing. Oliver’s hips thrust against hers, his erection sliding between her folds and bumping against her clit without entering.

Only when the need for air grew too much for them to take, Oliver pulled back enough, so they could look at each other. Their eyes met immediately. Felicity couldn’t say what he saw in her face, but his hips stilled. He took in her face carefully, his right hand sneaking away from under her back and stroking over her cheek gently.

There was still no word being spoken, but it wasn’t needed for them to acknowledge the change in the atmosphere. Tonight wasn’t the night to find quick release in each other. Tonight was the night to celebrate that despite their rocky start and despite the troubles they had had, they had found each other after all. They were together now because they had overcome whatever had kept them apart. That didn’t call for quick release.

Oliver took one of Felicity’s hand and laced his fingers through hers, resting them next to her head on the mattress. In the meantime Felicity’s other hand reached between their bodies. She took hold of his cock and positioned him at her entrance. As soon as their eyes locked, Oliver pushed into her. Felicity’s hand tightened around his shoulder, her nails digging into his skin, as he was burying himself inside of her wet heat inch by inch.

Once he was inside of her completely, Oliver lowered himself more onto her. Their lips met in a slow kiss. Their bodies rocked against each other in perfect synch. Their movements were slow and gentle. Oliver moved out of her almost completely until only the tip of his cock was still inside of her. Then he pushed back in without any hurry and pressed his pelvis into her, his skin rubbing against her clit and increasing her pleasure. Felicity circled his hips with her legs, her heels digging into his butt, changing the angle and pulling him even deeper into her.

When her lungs were burning with the need for breath, Felicity turned her head to the side. Oliver’s lips sucked at the side of her neck immediately. When he reached her pulse point, Felicity arched her back and looked over his shoulder, watching his body moving against hers slowly. She moved her hand from his shoulder, down his back to his butt, squeezing the flesh. Oliver moaned, dropping his head to her shoulder, and thrust into her particularly firmly.

“Oh yes!” Felicity exclaimed breathily.

She pressed her thigh to the outside of Oliver’s hips and he rolled around, so she was straddling his lap. When Felicity sat up, he followed right after her, bending his strong arms around her waist and crushing her to his chest, so Felicity could feel his quick heartbeat against her ribs.

Slowly rocking against him, Felicity stroked her hand through his short hair. Oliver angled his head back immediately and looked at her with eyes that were darkened and blown wide with lust. He lifted his chin and caught her lips in a gentle kiss. When his tongue traced her bottom lip, she broke the kiss much to Oliver’s displeasure if the low groan was any indication. Felicity grinned against his skin and lowered her lips further down to his neck. She grabbed a bit of his hair and angled it to the side, making his neck longer for her. She pressed a kiss to the side of his neck before she opened her lips and started sucking.

She had hadn’t dared to leave a mark when they had had sex that night after her date with Palmer. Now she would make good for that. Oliver wasn’t an escort any longer. He didn’t need to appear untouched for any other woman, so she could happily leave marks all over his body. If the way Oliver thrust up into her more quickly was any indication, he didn’t mind carrying her marks either.

Once she was sure that she had left a mark, she pulled back and eyed up her work. Smiling happily at the purple bruise on his neck, Felicity tightened her hold on Oliver’s hair and turned his face back to her. Her lips pressed to his in a bruising kiss immediately. The kiss didn’t last long, though.

Soon her forehead fell against Oliver’s, resting there while they continued to slowly rock against each other. They kissed occasionally while they were stroking each other’s skin and just moving together. There was an intimacy in the way they were moving together and in the way they were touching each other without any hesitation that sent a warm shiver down Felicity’s spine.

They were still moving slowly, almost lazily. There was no hurry for either of them. They wanted to enjoy the intimacy of the moment as their bodies were getting to know each other once more.

When Felicity reached her peak, it took her by surprise. One moment she was still climbing, the next the waves of pleasure were already rushing through her body and mixing with the emotions that seemed to explode inside of her. Oliver’s name fell from her lips again and again. Her skin tingled and she felt as amazing as she hadn’t felt in a long time. Her arms tightened around Oliver’s neck, holding onto him for dear life while she was riding out her orgasm against him, moving erratically without any grace.

Only when her pleasure slowly ceased, her heartbeat slowly going back to normal, Felicity opened her eyes. Oliver’s eyes were on her face, watching her so intensely that it made a low whimper fall from her lips. He had clenched his teeth in a struggle to keep holding on. His hips were snapping into hers hard again and again. He was chasing his release, so desperate to come and yet unable to let go.

Felicity put her hand to his cheek and lowered his lips to his in a slow and gentle kiss. His erratic thrusts stuttered for a moment since he was certainly taken by surprise by the kiss. She pecked his lips shortly once more before she pulled back and looked at him, finding his wide eyes on her.

“Just let go,” she whispered. “Just let go and come for me.”

Oliver continued to look at her for a just a moment longer before his head dropped to her chest. His cheek snuggled to the top of her breasts and his arms tightened around her waist. He thrust into her three more times and finally followed her request.

“Felicity,” her name fell from his lips in a whisper when she felt him jerking inside of her.

Felicity moaned at the sensation and felt a mini-orgasm rocking through her. She cradled Oliver’s head to her chest and kissed his hair, breathing heavily. They were still moving against each other, their movements much slower than before. Felicity lost all feeling for time in this moment. It didn’t matter if they stayed like this for seconds or minutes or even hours. All that mattered was that they were in each other’s arms and enjoying the last waves of pleasure they had given to each other.

When they both stilled, their breathing and heart rate back to normal, Oliver pressed a kiss to the top of her left breast before he rested his head back and looked at her. The admiration and affection in his eyes made Felicity’s heart stumble in her chest. Felicity moved her fingertips through his short stubble, just eyeing him up for a long moment. When Oliver started smiling, so did she and slowly she lowered her lips to his, kissing him slowly and gently.

“Hi,” she whispered when she pulled back and rested her forehead against his.

“Hey,” he whispered back, stroking his hands up and down her back. He pecked her lips once more before he pulled back a little more. “We should clean ourselves up.”

Felicity nodded with a sigh, tightening her arms around his shoulders. “I want to stay like this a little longer.”

“I suggest I get into the bathroom, make sure that we both get cleaned up,” Oliver replied and kissed first her right cheek, then her left cheek and finally the tip of her nose, “and then I slide back into bed and we can cuddle.”

“Already convinced,” Felicity replied and pecked his lips.

She lifted herself off of him, releasing a low groan when he slid out of her. Felicity let herself fall into the mattress with a sigh.

“I will be right back,” Oliver told her. When Felicity just hummed to make him know that she had heard him, he chuckled. “Did I relax you?”

“We both know you’re very good at that,” Felicity replied, shooting Oliver a look.

He grinned. “Oh, I know.”

Felicity threw a pillow at him. “Don’t get cheeky, Mister.”

“I wouldn’t dare to,” Oliver replied and caught the pillow. He winked at her before he gestured at the bathroom and told her. “I will be right back.”

She nodded, watching him leave and closing the door between them. With a low sigh Felicity melted even more into the mattress. She closed her eyes. Only now her brain really caught up with everything that had happened in these last hours and a wide smile spread on her face.

Oliver and she had finally been given another chance. They were giving each other and them another chance. They could work out the issues of lacking trust and find a way to make it work between them. They could be in a relationship and even work together in a way and that made her happy. With everything that seemed to be going wrong in her life, Felicity knew that this was going just right.

Her heartbeat quickened at the thought, all the little butterflies in her stomach fluttering around wildly. She took in a deep breath, feeling no burden pressing down on it. She was feeling good and even hopeful for the first time since… since a long time.

“That’s the face I like to see when I enter a room,” Oliver said.

Felicity opened her eyes and turned her head. Oliver was leaning in the doorframe without any shame about his nakedness. He smiled at her happily, playing with the towel in his hands. Smiling Felicity made a come-here-movement with her forefinger and Oliver stepped to the bed. He climbed onto the mattress and started wiping her inner thighs with the towel. Felicity let him do so, just watching him.

When her inner thighs were cleaned up, he threw the towel over his shoulder carelessly and slid into bed with her. His arms wrapped around her body, pulling her to him. Felicity snuggled close to him, resting her head on his chest and listening to his heartbeat. Her fingers were moving on his skin slowly. Oliver pressed a kiss to the crown of her head before pushing his nose into her hair and breathing her in. Felicity smiled against his skin.

“I like this,” she whispered.

“Yeah, I like this too,” Oliver replied, tightened his arms around her waist. “I could stay like this forever.”

“Well, let’s start with tonight,” Felicity suggested and angled her head back, “if you don’t have any other plans.”

Oliver smiled and pecked her lips. “Tonight sounds like a good start. I just need to head back home tomorrow morning to get some new clothes and-“

“Speaking of home,” Felicity interrupted him and moved up the bed a little so their faces were on one level. She looked at him urgently. “What’s your address?”

“124 Clarkson Avenue. Why?”

“Oh, just in case you choose to ignore my calls again,” Felicity replied.

Oliver chuckled and kissed her gently. “Not going to happen again.”

“I hope so,” Felicity replied and snuggled back closer to him.

She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, enjoying the way Oliver stroked his warm hand over her hair and back lazily. She pressed her nose against his skin and breathed him in. The scent of his skin was certainly going to lull her into sleep easily and maybe with his strong arms wrapped around her body she might even have a night without any nightmares ahead of her.

“First day in a new job and you are already put through a nightshift. You should complain to your boss about this,” she mumbled sleepily.

When Oliver didn’t reply, Felicity frowned. She was just about to ask him if he was okay when he slowly turned them, so her back was resting in the mattress and he was hovering over her. Her legs opened automatically, encasing his hips between her thighs. Still frowning, she looked at Oliver, waiting for him to speak.

“Just to clarify this once more,” Oliver told her with quiet voice and stroked his thumb over her cheek slowly. “I am staying here as your boyfriend. Your bodyguard left when you came back home from work, hoping that you will be safe tonight. Now I am here as your new boyfriend and he is staying here because he wants to spend time with the woman he has fallen in love with.”

Felicity chuckled. “It’s really weird when you talk about yourself in the third person though-“

When his words suddenly caught up with her, Felicity felt her throat growing tight. She fell silent, looking at Oliver intensely while her heart was suddenly beating so quickly that she could feel her blood rushing in her ear. Her entire body tingled.

“Fallen in love?” she eventually choked out breathily.

Oliver pulled back slightly like he was just now realizing what he had said. He looked slightly past her and opened his mouth already when he decided to close it again. A frown formed in his forehead for a short moment before he looked back at her and started smiling.

“Yes,” he finally said, nodding his head. “I think that those are the words I have been looking for before when I tried to tell you why I have always been myself around you. I didn’t dare to say the words then, but now that they are out, I don’t want to deny them either because they are true. I am in love with you. I love you, Felicity.”

Felicity felt her heart swelling at his words. All her nerve endings prickled in response to his words. She opened her mouth to say something, but no sound came out. She quickly swallowed, wetted her lips and gave it another try. Again no sound came out.

“Okay, I know it was way too early to say that,” Oliver suddenly interrupted the silence, obviously mistaking her silence. “I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you away or make things awkward because now it is kind of awkward because we are lying naked snuggled up to one another and you can’t say anything because of what I said and-“

Quickly Felicity framed his face with her hands and pulled him down to her. She interrupted his words with a kiss, using the opportunity of his mouth being opened from speaking and stroked her tongue into his mouth. Oliver hesitated for a moment before he responded to the kiss, his tongue moving against hers.

She parted their lips, pushing Oliver’s face far enough away from her to look at him.

“I love it when you babble,” she told him.

“Well, I don’t babble and if I babble it’s only because your babbling is contagious and-“

“And I love you,” Felicity interrupted him.

For the break of a second Oliver didn’t react. Then a smile formed on his face that occupied his entire face and took Felicity’s breath away. Before she could really take in the sight, Oliver’s lips were already capturing hers in a searing kiss, though. His tongue opened her lips to him and he used the whimper that escaped her to move his tongue against hers.

It wasn’t long until the need for air pulled them apart. Their lips stayed close, though. For a long moment they just breathed the same air, their chests heaving erratically and their hearts pounding in the same wild rhythm.

“Round two?” Oliver asked.

Felicity grinned, nodding her head quickly. “Round two.”

She barely had time to take in a breath before Oliver’s lips were already pressing back to hers, devouring her and they made love for the second time that night, now knowing exactly what they felt for each other. The answer was love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, guys!
> 
> I felt after this last chapter a few words were needed to say. First of all thanks to all of you who have read the story and liked it or commented on it or shown your support in some other way. I really appreciate it though I didn’t get around to answer to all the comments as I usually try to do. I can tell that none comment went by unnoticed. I read every single one and they never failed to make me smile.
> 
> Now I know that one big question is still unanswered: who shot Felicity?   
> There are two reasons why I didn’t really clarify this. First, I think it wasn’t that much neccessary to address that for the fic to be somewhat rounded up. Second, I am kind of keeping the door open to maybe write a bodyguard AU sequel one day. 
> 
> I have a lot of other fics in mind that I would like to write, though, so I am not sure that it will ever actually happen. I hope you can live with not knowing who tried to kill Felicity. She has someone to look out for her and that is all that really matters, isn’t it?
> 
> Next week I am going to post a one-shot before I will start posting the first sequel to The best mistake on February 6.
> 
> Once again, thank you all so much!

**Author's Note:**

> I will try to update each Monday for as long as I can follow that schedule! :)


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